Bishop divides Episcopalians

The House of Bishops elected Rev. Gene Robinson, an active homosexual, as bishop of New Hampshire in August, making him the first openly homosexual bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church. \nThe election of Bishop Robinson has created heated controversy and division within the church, even in the Bloomington community.\nThough international opposition is the greatest threat to the unity of the church, the conflicts within the United States are equally difficult. Bloomington resident Kelley Schnabel said she left the Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington in search of a parish with a more firm stance opposing the bishop's election. \nSchnabel said while she does not favor homosexuals in leadership positions within the church, she opposes Robinson's election primarily because he left his wife and kids to be in a relationship out of wedlock.\n"I can't worship in an environment where there is not a consistent message," Schnabel said. "We have pushed the Bible too far back from the primary place of direction. I simply don't agree with having leadership in the church representing behaviors we don't condone."\nThe general consensus among American and Canadian Episcopalians is that sex outside of a committed relationship is sinful, yet there is no general consensus on the subject on the practice of homosexuality, according to religioustolerance.org.\nThe Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States states, "No one shall be denied access to the selection process for ordination in this Church because ... sexual orientation ... except as otherwise specifies by these Canons." Though Bishop Robinson's election is legally protected, many parishioners find it to be more of a moral issue.\nSchnabel's message reflects many Americans in opposition to the gay bishop, yet a minority of the viewpoint among Episcopalians in Bloomington. \n"Bloomington is an anomaly because of the community it has in it," said Rev. Linda Johnson of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington. "People here tend to live with ambiguity fairly well. The response here has been positive and nuanced. People understand that sexuality does not hold this church together -- what unites us is our belief in Christ, prayer and the sacraments."\nAnd this is not the first time the Episcopal church has permitted the ordination of homosexuals. Since 1979 homosexuals have been ordained on the condition of celibacy.\nSchnabel said she is not against homosexuality.\n"It is not about being gay; it is about what we hold up to be Christian. We still love the person but not the behavior," she said. \nJohnson counters this argument with the belief that moral assumptions are not to be made by human individuals. \n"If it is not from God it will fail. If it is God doing a new thing, in a new time with new people, then we cannot stop it."\nThe Anglican Church, from which the Episcopal Church derives its faith, holds a conference every 10 years where delegates from around the world discuss church policy.\nThe final resolution from the 1998 Lambeth Conference states the church "rejects homosexual practice as incompatible scripture," and "cannot advise the legitimizing or blessing or ordaining of those involved in same gender unions," according to religioustolerance.org.\nIn the 2003 General Convention, the Episcopal Church decided to diverge from its parent Anglican policies by accepting Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop. \nWhatever might lie in the church's future, many parishioners and leaders of the church realize the moment of transition in which the church has found itself. \n"I think the Episcopal Church has the opportunity to make a prophetic witness," Johnson said, adjusting her clerical collar thoughtfully. "We are a church of inclusion and we can say to the world that the church has an infinite capacity to do harm and to do good."\n-- Contact staff writer Lauren Schaefer at lamschae@indiana.edu.