{"id":2393,"date":"2007-10-11T04:34:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-11T04:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/site\/2017\/2\/1985\/so_are_same_sex_blessings_authorized_in_the_diocese_of_rochester_ny\/"},"modified":"2007-10-11T04:34:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-11T04:34:00","slug":"so_are_same_sex_blessings_authorized_in_the_diocese_of_rochester_ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=2393","title":{"rendered":"So, are Same-Sex Blessings "authorized" in the Diocese of Rochester NY?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Odd that the Diocese of Rochester is not on Integrity’s list of dioceses that conduct Same-Sex Blessings.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Diocese of Rochester has been by many accounts at the forefront of advocacy for GLBT issues. It’s where Integrity is headquartered after all. And there has been an active and determined inter-faith push<\/a> for Same-Sex blessings etc. in the city of Rochester.<\/p>\n

Many in Rochester seem proud of their diocese’s lead on same-sex blessings an GLBT issues. A newspaper article published at the time of Gene Robinson’s consecration in 2003<\/a> highlights Rochester’s lead role in GLBT issues in ECUSA:<\/p>\n

The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, part of the larger Anglican tradition, has been a national leader on gay issues. So it’s natural that local Episcopalians would focus on the November 2 “consecration” of a gay man, the Rev. Gene Robinson, as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire. […]<\/p>\n

In any case, Robinson has been a rising star in the church. In 1999, he sought election as bishop of the Rochester diocese and came in second, says the Rev. Canon Carolyn Lumbard, head of diocesan communications. “This diocese,” she says, “is interested in gifts and talents.”<\/p>\n

“It’s going to be an interesting time in the Episcopal Church,” says Neil Houghton, a local Episcopalian who attended Robinson’s consecration.<\/p>\n

Houghton is active in the church in several ways. He’s the senior warden at the church where he’s worshipped with for 20-plus years, St. John’s of Honeoye Falls. And he’s the Northeast Regional vice president of Integrity USA, a national not-for-profit group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons that has organizational counterparts in Canada, Australia, and Uganda.<\/p>\n

Armed with this experience, Houghton brought back some indelible impressions from New Hampshire. The consecration, he says, was “a holy sacrament, but also a celebration.” He acknowledges the event drew protesters and advocates. But he says “there were also everyday people from New Hampshire, kids and families.” He saw around 250 students from the University of New Hampshire there, with T-shirts reading, “Gay? Fine With Me!” On the other hand, he watched a tiny group — followers of Pastor Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas — proclaiming “Sodomites Die in Hell.”<\/p>\n

“I hate that [the consecration] will cause grief and pain to some, but it was an absolutely glorious experience,” says Houghton. But how is this playing in Honeoye Falls? Houghton says the congregation at St. John’s recently met to discuss the issue. “There was almost unanimous support for what the church is doing,” he says. “This,” he says, “is a very liberal, tolerant area in the Episcopal Church, and even the Roman Catholic Church.” (Local members of Integrity share weekly services at St. Luke and St. Simon Cyrene Episcopal Church downtown with Catholics who belong to Dignity, a similar religious support group.)<\/p>\n

According to Houghton, there have been “blessings” of gay unions in the local diocese for around 30 years.<\/b> Indeed, says the Rev. J. Brad Benson, chair of the diocesan Committee for Gay and Lesbian Ministry, the diocese has had a gay ministry “for education and to dispel harmful stereotypes” for more than 20 years. Benson notes that some local Episcopalians are “concerned” about what’s happening in their church. But that’s nothing new, he says in effect. Some people, he says, left the church during the civil rights era — “because they didn’t want to share a pew with a person of a different color.”<\/p>\n

Rites are central to the Anglican tradition, of course. So are local Episcopal churches developing liturgies for blessing gay relationships? “Officially,” says Neil Houghton, “there is no adopted liturgy in the Episcopal Church.”<\/b><\/p>\n

Spokesperson Lumbard says the diocese will be looking at what to offer as “resources” in this regard. “It’s coming,” she says, without giving a timeframe. Bishop McKelvey, she says, “would support the blessing of lifelong, monogamous, committed [same-sex] relationships.”<\/b><\/p>\n

But she emphasizes that what’s under discussion here is not gay marriage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow, performing SSBs for 30 years and not on Integrity’s list. Looks like you need to try a little harder, Integrity. Or be a bit more honest?<\/p>\n

And what’s this about no officially approved liturgies? More word games, apparently. Thanks to a Canadian publication from 2003<\/a>, we can all read a liturgy that’s been developed in the diocese of Rochester. See pp. 12-15. And don’t miss the article on page 11, as well, which confirms the leading role the diocese of Rochester has played in GLBT issues in ECUSA.<\/p>\n

Just one more example of the fundamental deceit and dishonesty occurring in TEC on the matter of SSBs. A diocese performing such ceremonies for 30 years is not officially recognized as conducting public rites. WOW. Words fail.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

P.S., and lest anyone think this is some kind of un-intentional oversight, how about the fact that the Diocese of Newark<\/b> is not listed. Nor is Los Angeles<\/b> listed.<\/p>\n

But maybe Elizabeth Kaeton is hallucinating about this SSB that occurred in the middle of a Sunday morning worship service<\/a>? And maybe Susan Russell is exaggerating a tad<\/a> when she states<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“Same-sex blessings occur in the Diocese of Los Angeles all the time,\u201d\u009d she said listing several parishes including her own of which she was aware. \u201cWe don\u2019t ask for permission because Bishop Bruno has told us that he cannot give it until General Convention approves an official liturgy. He has told us that we are free to exercise appropriate pastoral care for our presbyters.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n

You think they’re lying? Nah. Kaeton, Russell, and +VGR are the honest ones. It’s TEC that’s lying with it’s claim that only a few dioceses allow SSBs.<\/p>\n

We could also easily<\/b> add Massachusetts<\/a>, and Olympia<\/a>, and perhaps Chicago<\/a>, Missouri and Minnesota<\/a> (see p. 15’s sidebar), …, oh and did we mention New York<\/a>? How about Atlanta<\/a>? It’s a quickly growing list! I’m sure with more effort we could expand this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Odd that the Diocese of Rochester is not on Integrity’s list of dioceses that conduct Same-Sex Blessings. The Diocese of Rochester has been by many accounts at the forefront of advocacy for GLBT issues. It’s where Integrity is headquartered after…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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