Limits on Gay Bishops Rejected (Columbus Dispatch)
June 21st, 2006 by Peter Frank
“Obviously, it’s not over until it’s over, but every indication is that the Episcopal Church intends to continue on its revolutionary course, one that is out of the Christian mainstream,” said Peter Frank, spokesman for Bishop Robert Duncan, of Pittsburgh, a leader of the conservative wing of the U.S. church.
“It’s heartbreaking.”
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. arm of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. Leaders of the worldwide group have warned of a breakup unless progressive Episcopalians back away from their acceptance of gay diocesan leaders and same-sex blessing ceremonies.
The House of Deputies finally spurned the conservatives’ demand yesterday, a full week into the General Convention that wraps up today at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Hours later, Presbyterians meeting separately in Alabama approved a plan to allow local congregations to hire gay ministers, the Associated Press reported.
In Columbus, many Episcopal leaders said the deputies’ vote was a bold statement grounded in love.
“What I’m seeing here is the Holy Spirit moving us in new directions,” said the Rev. Heather Buchanan Wiseman, of Cincinnati, a deputy for the Diocese of Southern Ohio.
“It’s kind of exciting, it’s scary, it’s new,” she said. “I don’t know where it’s leading us, but I’m glad to be on the trip.”