“It’s the benefit of Anglicanism to me. We’ve got everything from the arch-conservative to the arch-liberal,” said the Rev. Lou Scales, of The Church of Our Savior, on Columbia Road in Martinez.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, The Church of Our Savior held an event titled “A Discussion With Gay and Lesbian Episcopalians,” and has hired a senior warden who is gay.<\/p>\n
“That kind of preference is incidental to us,” the Rev. Scales said.<\/p>\n
It isn’t as incidental for others, said the Rev. Richard Sanders, the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, on Reynolds Street. “There are people who have left St. Paul’s on this issue — both because we’re not liberal enough and not conservative enough.”<\/p>\n
The issue, he said, is clearly divisive.<\/p>\n
“It has affected us here at St. Paul’s, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally,” the Rev. Sanders said. “It’s a terribly devastating thing for me. I grew up in this church. This crisis, and this issue, has been very hurtful.”<\/p>\n
The Rev. Fain agreed.<\/p>\n
“Living with the ambiguity and the tensions has been very challenging,” he said. “Some of us have the concern that this is drawing us away from our main mission.”<\/p>\n
The Rev. Sanders said that although the issue is important to him and to the people of St. Paul’s, “it’s not our priority here.”<\/p>\n
“We’re focused on showing the love of Christ to the world,” he said.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, the Rev. Scales said, that’s best done “by still gathering at the table, both in spite of and because of our differences.”<\/p>\n