Episcopalians voice outrage on gay bishop

An overflow crowd of Episcopalians gathered at Virginia Theological Seminary last night and clashed with bishops and lay leaders of the Diocese of Virginia over the recent election of an openly homosexual bishop.

Hundreds of parishioners from around Northern Virginia, the most conservative part of the 86,527-member diocese, crammed into an auditorium at the Alexandria seminary.

Those who disagreed with the ordination outnumbered supporters by a 4-1 ratio among attendees who got the chance to speak.

“People are up in arms and outraged about this decision,” said Bruce Mason, a spokesman with the American Anglican Council, which organized a protest vigil before the meeting.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia called the meeting to give parishioners a chance to tell Diocesan Bishop Peter J. Lee and Assistant Bishops Francis Gray and David Jones what they thought of the election of Canon V. Gene Robinson, a homosexual, as the new bishop of New Hampshire.

Bishop Lee and six of the eight-member Virginia delegation voted to ratify New Hampshire’s election, which the Episcopal General Convention approved in Minneapolis on Aug. 5. However, the diocese itself does not ordain openly homosexual priests.

“We are deeply grieved and disappointed,” Robert Call, a parishioner from Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Ashburn, told Bishop Lee. “You and like-minded bishops have caused a schism.”

Bill Harding, a parishioner from St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Woodbridge, told the three bishops he was “disappointed” that they didn’t see their own “hypocrisy.”

“How can you justify a statement saying sexual immorality is good and acceptable in New Hampshire, but not good in Virginia?” Mr. Harding asked.

The audience began to laugh when he added: “Where geographically between New Hampshire and Virginia does a moral lifestyle transition to an immoral lifestyle?”

A few Episcopalians congratulated Bishop Lee and the Virginia delegation for their votes. Melinda Artman, a member of Integrity, the homosexual Episcopal caucus, thanked the delegation “for allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you.”

“The members of Integrity will not abandon the Episcopal Church,” she added.

Although the number of persons allowed into the auditorium was capped at 400, dozens more stood outside holding candles and a protest banner draped in black.

“We are deeply disappointed in our bishop, who has kicked us in the stomach,” said Betsy Stalcup, a member of the Church of the Apostles in Fairfax. “It’s very clear that sexuality is between a man and a woman.”

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