Gay church official to speak of civil rights and religious rites

Since the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson became the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church in 2003, he has come to symbolize different things to different people.

For some, the New Hampshire bishop is a symbol of gay rights, while to others he represents a church gone astray.

No doubt, he's become symbolic of the tensions within the denomination — both nationally and internationally — over issues such as homosexuality and the authority of Scripture. For that very reason, some local Episcopalians are inviting Robinson to Seattle this week.

"He gets talked about in such abstract ways, as a symbol or an icon," said the Rev. Peter Strimer, rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Seattle. St. Andrew's, along with the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia and Integrity Puget Sound, a group for gay and lesbian Episcopalians, are sponsoring Robinson's visit.

But "we don't exist in the abstract," Strimer said. "As people are deciding about the role of gays in the church, rather than simply having an abstract discussion, I thought it was important that we met the person and heard his story."

On Monday afternoon, Robinson will preach at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and give a talk on civil rights and religion that evening at Town Hall.

His visit comes at a time of increased tensions between conservatives and liberals within the Episcopal Church and the 77-million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch.

While some cheered the election and consecration of Robinson as bishop, seeing it as a step forward for gay rights, others saw it as another sign that the Episcopal Church was veering too far from biblical teaching and church tradition.

In the U.S., four dioceses and dozens of parishes have split from the Episcopal Church, leading to multimillion-dollar lawsuits over church property.

And last month, conservatives formed a rival province to the Episcopal Church, calling itself the Anglican Church in North America. The new province, which hasn't yet received formal recognition from the worldwide church, says it has about 100,000 members. Some churches in this state may join.

Robinson, 61, who lives in Weare, N.H., with his longtime partner, says he does his "best to remember this is not about me, even though my name does come up. In many ways, the split you see going on in the Episcopal Church began quite a while ago, in the mid-1970s with the ordination of women.

"And in some ways, this was a split looking for an issue to hang its hat on. My consecration seems to have become that."

Robinson, in a phone interview, said he intends to speak at Town Hall about what he sees as the need to separate civil rights — including civil unions and same-sex marriage — from religious rites.

"Religious bodies can take all the time they need or want to make a decision about whether to bless such a union, but the union itself is a civil right that we all ought to be able to get behind," he said.

The Rev. Duncan Clark, rector at St. Charles Anglican Church in Poulsbo, which broke from the Episcopal Church in 2004 to align with a conservative bishop in Brazil, said Robinson's visit wasn't a big deal.

For him, "this is a small issue these days," said Clark, who says his church plans to join the new Anglican Church in North America.

"In the new millennium, Christians need to be really focused on being a blessing, doing good things for the community and leaving the complaining to other people. ... There are a lot more important things to do."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com