Church elects its first gay bishop

CONCORD, N.H. — Episcopalians in New Hampshire, in a national first for the church, yesterday elected an openly homosexual man as their next bishop.

The selection of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, 56, over three other candidates for bishop came in voting by clergy and lay Episcopalians. It is subject to confirmation next month by the church’s national General Convention in Minneapolis.

Mr. Robinson told supporters to be gentle with those who disagreed with their decision to elect him.

“We will show the world how to be a Christian community,” he said. “I plan to be a good bishop, not a gay bishop.”

Bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church, approved a resolution in 1998 calling homosexual sex “incompatible with Scripture.”

According to the Episcopal News Service, the only other bishop to publicly state that he was actively homosexual was Otis Charles, former bishop of Utah, who made the announcement in 1993 after retiring.

Mr. Robinson, who was married and has two grown children, lives with his partner, state employee Mark Andrew, in Weare. He is an assistant to retiring Bishop Douglas Theuner.

Friends said he remains on good terms with his ex-wife and two daughters, both of whom attended yesterday’s balloting.

On the second ballot, Mr. Robinson received 58 of 77 votes cast by clergy and 96 of 165 lay votes to become bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.

Mr. Robinson preaches at area churches and has been active in local causes such as Concord Outright, a support group that he established for teenagers.

The Rev. Hays Junkin, head of the committee that selected the four candidates, said he expects Mr. Robinson’s election to be contentious at the General Convention. If confirmed at the national convention, which represents the country’s 2.3 million Episcopalians, he would be installed next March.

Mr. Robinson twice ran unsuccessfully for bishop — in the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, N.Y., in 1999 and in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, N.J., in 1998.

He faced opposition in New Hampshire, though all the candidates and Bishop Theuner have expressed support for homosexuals in the church.

The Rev. David Jones, rector of St. Paul’s in Concord, N.H., where voting took place, said he was thrilled with Mr. Robinson’s selection even though he recognizes that the Bible denounces homosexuality.

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