The Maryland priest at the center of a seismic tumult in the worldwide international Anglican Communion is slim and stands just over five feet, wears her gray hair cut short and greets visitors with a strong two-handed grasp. She’s known to former parishioners and colleagues for emotional and insightful sermons, administrative skill, high energy \u201d\u201d and for occasionally wearing a giant foam wedge of cheese on her head to honor her favorite NFL team.<\/p>\n
The Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool, due to be consecrated Saturday as bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, is known to the rest of the world by a phrase that would fit on a bumper sticker: “First openly lesbian bishop.”<\/p>\n
If the label seems handy, Glasspool said she hopes it soon outlives its usefulness.<\/p>\n
“People who know me, the label will disappear. All I’m asking is an opportunity to get to know me,” Glasspool, 56, said last week in an interview at the Baltimore headquarters of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. As canon to the bishops for the last nine years, she has served there as principal adviser to the leaders of the church.<\/p>\n