http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

I heard about this last friday on NPR. Some of the other bishops said this would ignite a "Nu-clear ( BUSHISM) war"
I think this plus the pending ruling on the Texas law will bring the gay debate front and center.
It will be up to all of us to keep the debate centered on equal, not special rights.

The same thing has happened in the UK. Canon Jeffrey John has just been appointed Bishop of Reading. John is a well-known theologian, and has been in a relationship for 20 years. Naturally, conservative bishops and others are calling for his dismissal, but the Bishop of Oxford, who appointed him (Reading is a sub-bishopric of Oxford) is standing firm.

Who knows - the church might even catch up with the 20th century (the 21st may be too big a leap!)

Nat

Gotta love New Englanders sometimes...even conservative New Hampshire Episcopalians can deal with (homo)sexuality as an integral aspect, and not the *only* aspect, of a person's human and spiritual worth.

Another reason to like New Hampshire- Handsome Repub Governor wink

That handsome Republican governor you referred to is one of the biggest homophobes in any of the executive mansions in the country. He was adamant in his campaign (he was elected in 2002) that he would make sure the gay rights laws in the state were overturned. This man made a fortune in the cable television business and saturated TV with ads for his candidacy a year bedore the election (he almost lost the Rep primary). He has a clear dislike for anything gay related, but yes his good looks and the barrage of campaign ads propelled him into office. The Democratic opposition was not well financed as most Democrat money went to Jeanne Shaheen in her failed US Senate bid. New Hampshire is a strange state politically. Bush won NH thanks to Nader, and its 4 electoral votes made a big difference. It was the only Northeast state to go for Bush. It is possible for a well financed Democrat to win statewide, albeit difficult. Both senators and both congressmen are VERY conservative Republicans.

Anyway, beware of the creepy gov....

Copman, I mean, what do you believe in? Benson's homophobia is documented...from your posts I know you believe in more than just the surface of things. A better example of a gay-friendly New England Republican (who's also Catholic) is Donald Carcieri, of Rhode Island (or Lincoln Chafee, or Olympia Snowe, etc.). I don't think you're self-hating, but after this comment and the previous one about things not being set back (this *has* happened in the US with civil rights more than once), I'm confused; I mean, you don't actively support people who hate you, do you?

I happened to see him in a New Hampshire article and thought he was handsome...I don't want to vote for him - I just want to sleep with him !

[ June 08, 2003, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: copman ]

) From the looks of the two governors - how about I VOTE for Carcieri and SLEEP with Benson?? wink And now to get us back on topic ... I applaud the new gay bishop - Congrats Padre!

[ June 08, 2003, 09:04 PM: Message edited by: copman ]

Reviving this thread because a friend sent me this excerpt from letter to the editor of a Tennesse paper:
The actions taken by the New Hampshire Episcopalians [INDUCTING A GAY BISHOP] are an affront to Christians everywhere. I am just thankful that the church's founder, Henry VIII, and his wife Catherine of Aragon, and his wife Anne Boleyn, and his wife Jane Seymour, and his wife Anne of Cleves, and his wife Katherine Howard, and his wife Catherine Parr are no longer here to suffer through this assault on traditional Christian marriages."

A good chuckle, but how really did the writer mean it?