Delegates to the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia’s annual convention voted this week to allow the church to bless same-gender relationships.
The resolution was submitted by the Rev. Ann Lovejoy Johnson, associate rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charleston. It “urges our Bishop to honor same-gender relationships by supporting public rites for the blessing of same-gender relationships in congregations where such blessings are supported and so desired.”
The final decision rests with the diocese’s bishop, the Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, who responded with a prepared statement when contacted by the Gazette on Tuesday.
“Thank you for your interest, but I wonder where your interest was when wonderful things have happened in the past in the Episcopal Church? And try as you like to make us one, we are not a one issue church,” he said in the statement. He would not comment further, and calls to St. John’s were not returned Tuesday afternoon.
“And try as you like to make us one, we are not a one issue church” – really? What other issue is there over which the EcUSA/TEc is concerned? It would not be sexual abuse of children a la Bennison. The MDGs have fallen to the wayside to fund lawsuits. Lawsuits, maybe?
How about some comments on the creation of a matriarchy?
Gee, bishop, defensive much?
He did sound a bit testy in that statement.
One priceless quote from the article,
[blockquote] “He is either going to go by the will of the convention or he can pull the authority game here and he could play with it,” said Lewis, an activist minister who recently had his Episcopal license revoked and then reinstated.[/blockquote]
“play with it” ????
Or maybe he could do what bishops are supposed to do by forbidding it.
I’ll bet he will wish he had not responded so high-handedly to the press, especially next time he wants something published…
Sounds like someone who doesn’t have much to show and instead much to hide. Great P.R., bish. Now you’ve got everybody being certain that we’re the Church of secrets and entitlements. How easily are bishops made.
When he talks about “the wonderful things” the Episcopal Church has done in the past, I wonder what those “wonderful things” were? And if TEC was a “one issue Church,” instead of involving itself in things worldly and not of the Church, would they be embroiled in the mess which they have created for themselves? I think not.