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Yes! I’m sure that this will usher in another rash of defections from the church. Too bad, so sad. Fundie explosion in 3…2…1
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles today elected the first openly gay bishop since the national church lifted a ban that sought to bar gays and lesbians from the church’s highest ordained ministry. Clergy and lay leaders, meeting in Riverside for their annual convention, elected the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool, 55, who has been in a committed relationship with another woman since 1988. Another gay candidate, the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco, withdrew late Friday.
Glasspool’s election to fill one of two openings for bishops of the diocese followed the selection Friday of the Rev. Canon Diane Jardine Bruce, 53, the rector of a San Clemente church. The two became the first women elected as bishops of the diocese in its 114-year history.
But in July, the Episcopal Church reversed course at its national convention in Anaheim, voting to open the top echelons of the church to gays and lesbians. The Los Angeles diocese is the first to test that policy.
…”I don’t think it’s a referendum on electing a woman or a gay person,” said the Very Rev. Mark Kowalewski, dean of St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. “Those are secondary characteristics.”
Rev. Glasspool’s own words, submitted to the diocese for her candidacy:
As a 24-year-old seminarian, I registered to give one of the many three-minute or less witnesses. Shaking in my little pulpit pumps, and in front of at least 1,500 people, I tried to make the point that when we are talking about human sexuality, we’re not talking about issues, we’re talking about people. I ended my “speech” with this: I trust that God’s Love at this Convention will transcend the issues and address the people – all of us – in our wholeness. I trust and I pray that that same love will prevent any of us from condemning others – particularly in this case, homosexuals, in our human, and full, and loving wholeness. After I sat down, my Bishop, Paul Moore, Jr., came over to me, gave me a great big hug, and said: “Now that you’ve come out to 1,500 people, don’t you think it’s about time to tell your parents?!”
It’s 30 years later and I almost feel as though I could give the same speech again. I still have the frayed and yellowed paper upon which I wrote it over a cup of coffee in a local McDonald’s. Almost, but not quite. You see, my essence and my vocation have been interwoven since college, and I’ve learned and grown because of that. I learned about prejudice and oppression not just by engaging with my African-American friends, but also through discovering who I really am, and how these dynamics work, and the cost of silence.
So – of all the worldly issues you all have named, I have been touched and changed the most by issues of gender equity and the status of gay and lesbian people in the church and society. Yet I am not a “single issue” person, and I preach passionately about peace-making, reconciliation, the need to battle the evils of racism, and overcome extreme poverty. I continue to support, and work for the Millennium Development Goals as a comprehensive, world-wide way in which we engage God’s purposes for the world.
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Anglican Church of Uganda, meet Bishop GlasspoolNot Anglican nor even Christian myself, I wish nothing but the best for Bishop Glasspool. She seems to be a bright, gifted woman and I also wish great strength for her in the days ahead when the “Global South” of the Anglican Church unleashes it’s fury upon her.
I’ve got your back, Sister!
Maureen Hennessey
I imagine this will cause many to think seriouslyAbout becoming Catholics. That is until they think about sending their children to the church to be ministered to by Catholic priests.
Openly gay AND a woman. The Prayer Book Society folks will blow a gasketThere are still bishops in the Episcopal Church who refuse to ordain women or even let women priests excercise their ministry within their jurisdiction. These are, by and large, the same arch conservatives who hate gay people and who refuse to use the “modernized” Book of Common Prayer.
Oh, how they will scream and froth at the mouth.
Congratulations to Bishop GlasspoolShe is a courageous woman to step into an international religious controversy. But our country needs leaders who are courageous.
Maybe this is West Coast custom of using gay woman rather than lesbianBut I would have said openly lesbian bishop
Brief tutorialAfter chatting with my room-mate about this, I realize that many may not know how this all works.
The Episcopal Church — formally, the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America — is a province of the Anglican Communion. That means it is a national church organization that draws its teachings and traditions from the Church of England. Most provinces conform to the national borders of former British colonies, although other provinces (such as the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of the Americas, which includes most of South America) have been established to serve regions of the planet with few Anglicans or areas with no traditional ties to England.
The Anglican Communion is a federation of provinces. While the Archbishop of Canterbury is honored as the head of the Communion, his actual authority is limited to his own province, the Church of England. Major decisions are handled by the decennial Lambeth Conference, with various advisory councils meeting more day-to-day issues.
Each province has its own hierarchy. The highest ranking bishop is the province’s primate (from Latin primus, “first”; no monkey jokes, please) and is commonly styled Archbishop although different titles may be used: the Primate of the Episcopal Church has the title of Presiding Bishop. (The current Presiding Bishop is Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman to ever have a primacy in the AC.) Primates typically have their own diocese and cathedral church: in the Episcopal Church, the Presiding Bishop is also the Bishop of Washington (DC), whose cathedral is the National Cathedral.
Provinces are divided into dioceses, which make up the main administrative and spiritual divisions of the church. Each diocese has a single diocesan bishop, who serves as the spiritual and administrative head of the diocese. Only a bishop may administer the sacraments of ordination and confirmation. Bishops also have the authority of priests, and as such may celebrate communion, perform baptisms, etc.
A diocese can also be called a “see,” from Latin sedes, “seat.” Properly, the see is the city which often gives its name to the diocese (ie the bishop’s seat of power) but is frequently used to mean the whole jurisdiction. Just as primates have their own diocese, diocesan bishops have their own parish. The church in that parish is a cathedral, from Latin cathedra, “throne.” When the bishop is absent on visits to other parishes and other administrative tasks, the cathedral parish is cared for by a priest hired by the parish. In the United States, the parish priest of a cathedral has the title of Dean.
In many dioceses, the diocesan bishop will have assistant bishops. Typically these are suffragan bishops, from Latin suffragium, “supporting.” They have sacramental authority but no administrative power, and help the diocesan bishop in doing parish visits and performing confirmations and other sacraments. Glasspool and Bruce have been elected suffragan bishops.
On rare occasion, the diocese with have a coadjutor bishop. A coadjutor has both sacramental authority and administrative power, and is typically elected when the diocesan bishop is preparing to retire. Coadjutor comes from a Latin phrase meaning “co-ruler.”
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Techbear, thanks for the tutorial. I do have a question.The Washington Times reports “[b]efore she can be consecrated on May 15, 2010, [Glasspool] will need consents from a majority of the country’s 100 domestic Episcopal dioceses.”
Will there be any difficulty obtaining consent from the other dioceses in The Episcopal Church?
The ordination of bishops is a tricky matterThe canons of the church allow a diocese to elect anyone they want to fill a position as bishop. However, the canons also require that a bishop-elect first receive the consent of a majority of current diocesan bishops. (If the newly elected bishop is already a bishop, no consent is needed.) The governance of the Episcopal Church is modeled on the governance of the United States, so you can think of this step as a Senate confirmation for a political appointee. Because this is a controversial election, you can bet that every bishop will want to go on record as to why they gave or withheld consent. You can double down on the expectation that the conservative wingers will make a great dramatic show of clutching their pearls (may they strangle themselves in the process) and explain at great length how openly gay people are unfit and dangerous.
Keep in mind that five months ago, the General Convention (the Church’s equivalent to Congress) lifted the ban on ordaining gay clergy. That change in policy required the approval of a majority of both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops (in effect, the House and Senate of the church.) It seems reasonable, then, that a majority of current diocesan bishops (the voting members of the House of Bishops) see no reason to deny consecration merely on the basis of sexual orientation. As long as Glasspool is qualified — and it certainly sounds like she is — consent will be given. I see no reason to worry about it.
*Pick that nit, sister!
Gene Robinson’s Confirmation/InvestitureI was there. Born and raised in NH, but present as a member of the press corps. The ceremony was held in the UNH hockey arena. Could hardly see for all the glitter and colorful robes.
IIRC, there was a point at which then-Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold asked the assembly if anyone wanted to state reasons against Robinson’s elevation to bishop of the diocese. There was a certain priest, Father Earle Fox (retired) from Pittsburgh, who attempted to read into the record a list of typical sexual behaviors of male homosexuals, claiming that confirming the election of Gene Robinson as bishop was tacit approval by the church of such behaviors. Archbishop Griswold didn’t let him get very far into the list.
And I remember all the wacko protesters outside the arena.
If Gene was confirmed by a 62-43-2 vote in the House of Bishops, Glasspool shouldn’t have a problem. If the NH ceremony was colorful, can you imagine what LA is going to look like?!?
Good for Rev. Glasspool. I’m neither Episcopalian nor Christian, although i still carry some baggage from having been raised as a protestant (former Catholics are not the only ones who might need a “recovery” period). But given the amount of power wielded by religious groups in this country, having a few more on the side of humanity and equality is a good thing.
History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Not so sure.I’ve only known one former protestant who became Catholic, and that was only so she could sing in the choir at her husband’s Catholic church. Angry protestants usually find other protestant denominations to join. Witness the angry Episcopal “flock” giving their allegiance to the Nigerian Anglican primate.
This is awesome news for Bishop GlasspoolTechBear–
A very well written overview of the ECUSA.
Also, with respect to the divide over ordination of gay bishops, etc, some of the fundies are splitting off of the ECUSA and forming their own Anglican province.
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Also, I would say that I disagree with Pam to a minor degree: while I have no problem asploding heads on the part of the religious right, it’s not strictly a good thing for people to leave Episcopal parishes: no people means no money to support the parishes. I’m not arguing that keeping fundies in Episcopal dioceses is a good thing, just that an overall progressive Episcopal church is a good thing, and it’s tough on us lgbt christians if we have nowhere else to go.