The revelation of his hidden world comes at a time of deep tension within the Episcopal Church of the United States over the issue of homosexuality. Since the church ordained an openly gay bishop in the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, a dozen congregations in various parts of the country have withdrawn from the American branch of the church and aligned themselves with theologically conservative African or South American branches of the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part.<\/p>\n
Those African and South American branches have described homosexuality as \u201can offense to God.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
At St. John the Divine, where inclusiveness toward those of all backgrounds and sexual orientations has long been fundamental to the culture of the congregation \u201d\u201d in part as a result of Bishop Moore\u2019s leadership \u201d\u201d the reaction was more complicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to say that we all have secret lives \u201d\u201d and that\u2019s why we come here,\u201d\u009d said Mary Burrell, a longtime member of the congregation. \u201cWe are all sinners, trying to find our way.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n