Source: Dallas Voice, Dallas Morning News
The leader of the Episcopal Church said Monday, April 28 that she expects the denomination to sanction same-sex union ceremonies “in our lifetimes.”
Speaking at the Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, a predominantly gay parish, during her first official visit to Dallas, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori also said she believes openly gay bishop Gene Robinson’s exclusion from the upcoming Lambeth Conference will only serve to increase his impact on the event.
Jefferts Schori is presiding bishop of the U.S. branch of the 80-million-member worldwide Anglican Communion.
Wearing sunglasses and a white robe, the oceanographer-turned-priest helped preside over an elaborate afternoon service, blessing a garden whose raised-bed vegetable plots will help supply local food banks.
"Coming here to bless a garden, especially at this time in the history of humanity, when we're focused on how the church can be a more proactive voice in caring for the rest of creation, is an important message," she said before the service.
Bishop Jefferts Schori, 54, leads a church that is at odds with much of the Anglican Communion and faces revolt internally -- including from the local Diocese of Fort Worth and Diocese of Dallas.
After the formal ceremony, Jefferts Schori assured supporters from Fort Worth that the church hasn’t forgotten them even though their diocese took steps last fall toward leaving the denomination as a result of a dispute about the role of gays and women.
Jefferts Schori spent about 15 minutes answering questions inside the church after participating in the blessing ceremony outside. She prefaced her remarks by suggesting that she didn’t necessarily choose St. Thomas for the visit because of its unofficial status as Dallas’ gay parish or its long history of progressive stances on other social issues.
“A number have people have asked me, ‘How did you decide to come here?’” said Jefferts Schori, who was invited by members of the congregation to bless the garden. “Well, somebody asked, and that’s really all it takes -- that and the consent of your bishop here in Dallas.”
The reference to James Stanton, bishop of the Dallas Episcopal Diocese, drew laughter from the crowd of hundreds who gathered at St. Thomas. Stanton, a conservative who’s been a leader in the fight against gay Anglican bishops, approved Jefferts Schori’s visit but was not in attendance.
Dallas Voice reports that a gay audience member at the church who said he met his partner of 10 years at St. Thomas asked when the couple will be able to walk down the aisle together and have their relationship blessed by the church.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen this year,” Jefferts Schori said, adding that the national church’s General Convention undoubtedly will revisit the issue when it meets again in 2009. “I think it certainly will happen in our lifetimes.”
Currently, individual bishops in the Episcopal Church can decide whether to allow same-sex blessings in their dioceses. But the ceremonies aren’t allowed in Dallas, and the church has developed no formal liturgy for them.
“I certainly hope that we can expand our awareness enough to see that God is blessing [same-sex unions], and that the church needs to recognize that,” Jefferts Schori added. “God is blessing people in ways that we don’t formally recognize, and our job as Christians is to look around and see the glory of God wherever it is.”
The Episcopal Church has seen conservative congregations -- and one California diocese -- depart over what they say is its liberal drift, particularly the acceptance of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson.
"We're struggling over the appropriate place of gay and lesbian Christians in the church," Bishop Jefferts Schori said, adding that previous eras had seen conflict over integration and the ordination of women priests. "This is simply the issue God has presented us with in this age."
But Bishop Jefferts Schori also said the fallout for the Episcopal Church, with 7,700 congregations in the United States and elsewhere, has been exaggerated.
"We know of about 55 or 60 [congregations] which have had a majority of members decide to leave the Episcopal Church. That's well under 1 percent," she said.
The Diocese of Dallas itself has had departures, including what had been one of the Episcopal Church's larger congregations -- Christ Church in Plano.
The highly conservative Diocese of Fort Worth has taken steps to leave.
Jefferts Schori cautioned the large crowd at St. Thomas that they should have patience with those who disagree with them.
“Recognize that people come to different conclusions out of a deep sense of faith, and honor that,” Jefferts Schori said. “I think a lot of our difficulty right now is because we’re assuming the worst of people who disagree with us. When we can recognize another person as a faithful Christian who’s simply come to a different conclusion, we start at a much better place than we do when we assume that person is our enemy. So pray blessings on people who disagree with you.”
Stanton, whose conservative views have sometimes put him at odds with Jefferts Schori, did not attend Monday, but he did give permission for the visit and provided a welcoming letter, Dallas Morning News reports. The Episcopal Church requires permission from the local bishop when the Presiding Bishop comes into a diocese.
He told the News last week that he had told Bishop Jefferts Schori months ago that a long-standing family commitment would keep him from attending.
"This is not a protest of any sort whatsoever. It's just a matter of differences in schedule," he said. "She has decided to visit in smaller churches, and I commend that choice."
Another gay audience member who said he met his partner of 10 years at St. Thomas asked when the couple will be able to walk down the aisle together and have their relationship blessed by the church.
Full article: Bishop predicts gay union blessings ‘in our lifetimes’ | Dallas Voice
Amid turmoil, Episcopal bishop visits Dallas | Dallas Morning News