GENE ROBINSON, the first openly gay bishop in the history of the Anglican Communion, stood before 1,500 American Episcopalians and proclaimed: “I’m not an abomination in the eyes of God.” The Episcopal Church should “stand up for right”, he insisted.
Moments later, Robert Duncan, the conservative Bishop of Pittsburgh, took the microphone to declare that the Church had reached an “impossible moment” and was on the brink of an historic schism.
The high drama, played out in the ballroom of an Ohio hotel on Wednesday night, could determine the future of the 2.3 million-strong US Episcopal Church in the global Anglican Communion.
Episcopalians, gathered for their three-yearly convention, are struggling to craft a response to complaints that they broke with Anglican doctrine in 2003 by consecrating Bishop Robinson, who lives openly with another man.
The 2004 Windsor commission, appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, has invited the American Church to declare a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops and express “regret” for the events surrounding their 2003 decision.
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But resolutions, drawn up by an Episcopal panel, which could come to a vote as early as tomorrow, fall short of the Windsor commission’s recommendations.
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, the Church of England’s second-in-command, took the microphone to give warning that the proposed resolutions were not sufficient.
“We have been asked to build a bridge,” said Don Curran, a delegate from central Florida. “Say the bridge is 1,000 ft long. If the bridge is only 950 ft long, it does not work. It’s useless.”
Instead of declaring a moratorium, the American Church may simply urge “very considerable caution” in choosing any more gay bishops.
Similarly, its expression of “regret” is couched in terms that make clear that the American Church is sorry only about the lack of consultation with other Anglican provinces, not the actual consecretion of Bishop Robinson.
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Conservatives have denounced the proposed resolutions as a “fudge” and say the measures will not heal the rift over homosexuality.
“We see people leaving the Episcopal Church daily. Some people are hanging on just for this convention. If the Episcopal Church produces a fudge, you will see things fall apart,” said Cynthia Brust, spokeswoman for the American Anglican Council.
The Rev Mark Eldredge, of the Church of the Epiphany in Jacksonville, Florida, said that his congregation of 220 was waiting for a vote before deciding whether to break away, as 11 other parishes in Florida have done.
“Every one of them has experienced growth in attendance. And joy. It’s only good,” he said.
But gay rights activists within the Church say that the resolutions go too far, and believe they have the votes to prevent any toughening of the language.
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“We did not create the problem,” said Michael Hopkins, a representative from the Rochester Diocese, New York state. “We’ve been in a state of broken communion in the Church for 30 years since we began ordaining women.”
Dr Sentamu, who is Ugandan-born, told The Times: “What has happened to us that our friendship is fractured? “The question I was asking is, ‘Is the resolution sufficient to cure this impaired friendship?’ I’m doubtful because it does not go all the way.
“The chances are that it won’t work.”
HEALING FAITH
THE 2004 WINDSOR REPORT
Calls for a “moratorium” on the election of bishops living with gay partners until a new consensus emerges, and for an expression of “regret” that “bonds of affection” were breached by the election of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire
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THE PROPOSED EPISCOPAL RESPONSE
Urges “very considerable caution” in the election of bishops “whose manner of life present a challenge to the wider church” and offers “our sincerest apology and repentance for having breached the bonds of affection in the Anglican Communion by any failure to consult adequately with our Anglican partners”