Gay N.H. bishop announces retirement

It was sad to read about gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson’s retirement announcement over the past weekend, but it goes without saying this truly remarkable man’s humility, grace, sense of justice, dignity and humor have touched more people--LGBT and otherwise--than anyone can possibly imagine.

The Episcopal Church consecrated Robinson at the University of New Hampshire in Nov. 2003. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church were among the hundreds of people who protested in Durham on that cool November morning. It was quite an eerie sight to see sharpshooters positioned on rooftops around the Whittemore Center--Robinson himself wore a bulletproof vest during the consecration because he had received credible death threats. In spite of the fanfare, rhetoric and outright homophobia that surrounded this watershed moment, however, the vast majority of New Hampshire Episcopalians seemed genuinely uninterested in Gene’s homosexuality.

“New Hampshire is always the place I remain, simply, ‘the bishop,’’’ and not “the gay bishop,’’ said Robinson, as the Boston Globe reported.

Thank you Gene.

HBO neglects to include Robinson's inaugural prayer in broadcast

Openly gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson delivered his inaugural prayer at the Lincoln Memorial earlier today in spite of HBO's highly unfortunate failure to not include it in its broadcast. The channel's decision will almost certainly leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of those activists and others who remain upset at President-elect Barack Obama's decision to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation on Tuesday. I will have more thoughts the Saddleback Church founder in coming blogs, but for now I've posted the text of Robinson's prayer from the Diocese of New Hampshire's Web site.


Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God's blessing upon our nation and our next president.

God of our many understandings, we pray that you will...

Bless us with tears - for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger - at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort - at the easy, simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience - and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be "fixed" anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility - open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance - replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity - remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln's reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters' childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we're asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand - that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

Openly gay bishop to offer inaugural prayer

Arguably one of the most inspirational figures within the movement for LGBT rights, openly gay New Hampshire V. Gene Robinson will offer a prayer to open President-elect Barack Obama's first inauguration event at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday.

I had the distinct privilege of interviewing Robinson in June 2004. I also had the honor of attending his 2003 consecration at the Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire. Robinson's never-ending compassion and empathy for those he routinely describes as "at the margins" continues to generate enormous good will in my native New Hampshire and around the world.

Some cynics may try to point out Obama's decision to select Robinson is an attempt to deflect attention away from the controversy over tapping the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural convocation. Robinson, a long-time Obama supporter, himself criticized the decision in an interview with the Concord [N.H.] Monitor last month. He added, however, he feels his presence in Washington will send a powerful message.

"It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way," Robinson told the newspaper. "Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority or, in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters."

Indeed.

Gay bishop challenges exclusion from Anglican meeting

Openly gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson remains one of the most fascinating--and awe-inspiring--people I have interviewed, and his appearances in London over the last few days continue to prove that point well.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams excluded Robinson from the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in an effort to prevent further schisms in the religious body, but the Associated Press and other media outlets have reported this decision has almost certainly backfired.

Robinson is an inspiration for millions of gay and lesbian people of faith around the world. He continues to profess his own unique brand of ministry to people, such as himself, who remain at the margins of society and in the communities in which they live. The Anglican Church obviously continues to struggle to maintain some sort of traditional identity that allows the power brokers found within it to keep a sense of control. Robinson represents a very clear and present threat to this hierarchical system. The church is arguably a stronger and frankly more viable institution with his presence and inclusive ministry.

Faith Remains Dominant Issue for Movement for LGBT Rights

The movement for LGBT rights has long struggled to counter the prolific anti-LGBT rhetoric of anti-LGBT leaders of faith and religious congregations across the country. The Human Rights Campaign, the National Lesbian & Gay Task Force, Freedom to Marry, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Empire State Pride Agenda are among the national and statewide LGBT organizations which have invested resources and even staff into their efforts to highlight LGBT-affirming people of faith.

This blogger and other reporters and commentators have repeatedly noted these efforts in their articles and postings over the years. Openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire remains the figurehead of a small but growing number of LGBT leaders of faith across the country. They continue to gain visibility among local, regional and even national media outlets as issues of faith. The recent death of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell proved this trend as Larry King, Anderson Cooper and other journalists proved with their in depth coverage of his impact on American politics and religion. The question remains, however, as to the whether these efforts actually bring about change. Americans, as a whole, continue to become more tolerant -- and accepting -- of LGBT people as this blogger as repeatedly concluded in previous entries. The movement for LGBT rights is correct to capitalize on this trend with these efforts. The United States remains a nation of deep faith. People often cultivate their perceptions of people while in the church, synagogue, mosque or temple. The movement for LGBT rights must continue to "infiltrate" these religious institutions if it seeks to continue the change it has already begun.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Accuses Anglican Church of Gay Obsession

Gay exclusion within the worldwide Anglican Communion remains a serious problem as Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' decision earlier this month to not invite openly gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson to next summer's Lambeth Convention illustrates. Robinson's consecration, blessings for same-sex couples and other issues continue to divide many church leaders. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola remains one of the Communion's most vocal anti-gay leaders but his colleague, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said many of his African counterparts remain obsessed with these issues at the expense of other much more pressing problems.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner accused his colleagues of negligence in their apparent failure to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's continued oppression against his own people, the Darfurian genocide and general corruption on the continent. One can argue African Anglican leaders' apparent obsession with homosexuality continues to distract attention away from their own failure to tackle these issues. Gays and lesbians remain all too convenient scapegoats as Tutu's comments suggests. Hypocrisy in organized religion seem to go hand in hand in terms of attitudes towards homosexuality. Tutu continues to show courage as he challenges his colleagues to offer a seat at the table to every Anglican. The Anglican Communion in Africa should follow his example.

Anglican Church Continues to Struggle With Homosexuality

The latest in a seemingly never-ending series of rows within the Anglican Communion over openly gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson erupted yesterday after the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, declined to invite him to the Lambeth Conference next summer in London. The church holds the gathering every 10 years but the New York Times reported Williams wrote he reserves "the right to withhold or withdraw invitations from bishops whose appointment, actions or manner of life have caused exceptionally serious division or scandal within the communion.

The Episcopal Church -- the American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion -- consecrated Robinson in 2003 after his New Hampshire congregants overwhelmingly embraced him. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola and other vocal dissenters within the communion have distanced themselves from the Episcopal Church in response to its support of the openly gay bishop. Robinson's consecration sparked a much needed conversation among the Anglican Communion and other organized religious institutions about the role LGBT can play within them. These debates are often contentious and even painful. Williams' decision to exclude Robinson, however, sends an appalling message to LGBT Anglicans they remain on the margins of the worldwide table.