By religious affiliation I'm an Episcopalian. I was not raised in that church, but chose it for all of the silly reasons one uses when he's not quite ready to give up the cultural and social comfort of an old pattern of behavior. Regardless of how I got there, I've been there for about 40 years. Up until my move to Oakland six years ago, I was affiliated at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Since moving to Oakland, I haven't been to services more than three or four times. I've become one of those high holy day Christians.
The American Episcopal Church is an ecclesiastical church. We have a structured hierarchy of sorts. We divide ourselves along national political lines, so there is a Canadian church, an American church, a Ugandan church, etc. Within the national boundary, we are divided into regional groupings that pretty much follow state lines. Within state lines our political subdivision is called a diocese. Each diocese is headed by a bishop. All bishops are equal with the understanding that as with all things earthly, some are more equal than others. With the Episcopal Church, as with retail, it's location, location, location. I live in a very high profile diocese, the diocese of California, which is really San Francisco and the surrounding counties. There are altogether six dioceses in California. Ours is important because of the dynamism of San Francisco. There are no special privileges accompanying that, just a larger audience.
Our bishop, the right reverend William E. Swing, is retiring. He became our bishop in 1980, just as I moved back to San Francisco from my adventures. I clashed with him early over what I thought should be the church's roll in the lives of witnessing Christians who happened to be Gay and Lesbian. We did not see eye-to-eye on this and several other subjects.
He grew into his position. If you have a few minutes, here he's interviewed by Alan Jones, the dean of Grace Cathedral. He provided very strong and courageous leadership during a spiritually troubling time. The two greatest challenges to his episcopacy have been AIDS and homelessness. On both counts, he has been a good pastor. We shall miss him.
Now for the tough part. We get to elect his successor. There are seven candidates. One is a Lesbian, another two are Gay. A huge majority of the bishops of the worldwide Episcopal Church are horrified at the prospect of our choosing another Gay bishop. They have gone so far as to threaten us if we do. We are already experiencing schism.
We won't elect someone just because she's a Lesbian or just because he's Gay. Neither will we shy from it. I join most of my co-religious this Lenten season in reflection. Where is our church going? This is a conversation best between friends and not adversaries, but it is not we who have threatened to break away from the communion.
This schism is not just about Gay priests. It's also a delayed reaction to women being ordained as priests. There are some bishops who won't ordain women. When the conservatives finally do divorce us with their schism, watch how few women, if any, will be allowed to be priests. It's not just Gays they hate.
My first chance to meet the candidates will be about April 23 or 24. I'm looking forward to it. Here are the candidates:
The Rt. Rev. Mark Handley Andrus, Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Alabama;
The Rev. Jane Gould, Rector of St. Stephen's Church, Lynn, Massachusetts;
The Rev. Bonnie Perry, D.Min., Rector of All Saints' Church, Chicago, Illinois;
The Rev. Canon Eugene Taylor Sutton, Canon Pastor of Washington National Cathedral;
The Very Rev. Robert V. Taylor, Dean, St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, Washington.
The Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe, Officer for Congregational Development, The Diocese of California,
The Rev. Donald Schell, Co-rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, San Francisco.
These five men and two women represent the very best of the leadership of our church. We are very fortunate to have as rich as selection as we do.
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