Politics | 12/04/2008 8:17 am

Angry Over Gay Leader, Conservative Anglicans Split From Episcopal Church

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Anglican Bishop Martyn Minns sure has the holiday spirit! Not.

Still bitter over the 2003 ordination of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson, Minns and his small-minded peers came together yesterday to split apart from the Episcopal Church, which represents the Anglican Communion here in the States.

Insisting they’ll be united by theology — rather than simply geography — Minns and other Bishops from Fort Worth, Pittsburgh and Quincy, IL, came together yesterday to unveil what they’re calling the "Anglican Church of North America," a group that includes breakaway churches from the Anglican Church of Canada.

Tensions have been simmering for years, and other dioceses in Africa and Asia have united in their opposition to the broader Anglican Communion’s "soft" stance on gay members and leaders. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola once went so far as to describe gays and lesbians as a "cancer" that needs to be removed from society. What a doll, right?

Though Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the most senior Anglican Leader, tried to bring both sides together, the conservatives seem intent on going their own way. In fact, Minns says he has so much support from African and Asian leaders, that Williams’s blessing would simply be symbolic: "It’s desirable that he get behind this. It’s something that would bring a little more coherence to the life of the Communion. But if he doesn’t, so be it." Williams most likely won’t be backing the group, especially considering that a spokesman for America’s Episcopal leader, Bishop Katherine Schori, described their position as "the official, recognized presence of the Anglican Communion in North America." The official Episcopal group has many more members than this new breakaway: 2.3 million to 100,000.

Other observers also remain skeptical. Jim Naughton, who’s the canon of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, remarked that this new group "does not have much of a future because there are already a lot of churches in the United States for people who don’t want to worship with gays and lesbians." In other words, Minns and company are just a bunch of everyday bigots.

Read more about: Anglicans, Gene Robinson, Martyn Minns, News, Religion

51 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

This makes me sick. I was confirmed Episcopalian at age twelve. I turned away from the church when I grew up because I could tell that I was not accepted. It was like being invited to a banquet and not allowed to eat. I attempted suicide in college because I bought in to the idea that I was so awful and was going to hell anyway. I feel like so many Christians don’t follow the constitution that Jesus set forth. That LOVE is the rule…the measure by which to choose one’s actions. I love Jesus but his followers have scared me many times. I have chosen to become a member of another church called Unity. This is a where I can worship, love, participate in ALL activities…I can sit at the banquet table and eat like all of the others. I’m not made to feel like I’m lucky they let me in the door and no says to me…”I’ll pray for your sin”. We focus on God’s light and never point fingers at others. To me, it’s much more like Jesus would have wanted than to focus on hate and disparaging remarks about other humans. In my mind, people like this article describes are the real cancer in the church.

By Josie Sullivan on 12/04/2008 8:50 am

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Hear, hear, Josie! I was raised Southern Baptist—really … a little lesbian with a SPIRITUAL background … go figure … I paid tithes and everything. “They” act like we have no morals or realization that the Bible exists. Of course we know it exists! We’ve been beated about the neck and head with it long enough.

By Serena . on 12/04/2008 10:21 am

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beaten, not beated …

By Serena . on 12/04/2008 10:22 am

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Hi Josie….I hope this note finds you well and making art.I think I will be on this thread all weekend.I am the daughter of an Episcopal clergyman and have a lot to think about having finally gotten around to checking out this post. I find it fascinating to have so many wonderful comments that resonate….While I am saddened and ashamed that “we” were not able to keep you in the church, I rejoice in that you have found an inclusive, loving and welcoming community….Just what we would all wish for ourselves and ALL others.

By georgia fatwood on 12/06/2008 9:00 am

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One more thing, if you look closely at that man’s eyes, there is not a lot of spark. Hate drains life.

By Josie Sullivan on 12/04/2008 8:54 am

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Josie, That should be on a bumper sticker—Hate Drains Life.

By Serena . on 12/04/2008 12:00 pm

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Serena- You’re on to something. We should print some up and sell them at the next pride parade. Heck, what am I thinking, sell them to churches around the world. So, where do we begin?

By Josie Sullivan on 12/04/2008 1:04 pm

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I’m thinking there a few people—who shall remain nameless—whom I’d like to stick these on their foreheads.

By Serena . on 12/04/2008 6:15 pm

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… kinda like a dunce cap.

By Serena . on 12/04/2008 6:16 pm

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Those could be the little stickers…LOL!

By Josie Sullivan on 12/04/2008 8:28 pm

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Good idea Josie! “Here’s your sign!”

By Serena . on 12/05/2008 5:11 am

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This doesn’t surprise me. I’m not Episcopalian, but I have a dear friend who used to be. The Episcopalians strike me as a contrary bunch. Here, there is an Episcopalian cathedral. Two blocks away is another Episcopalian church. I asked my friend about it, & he explained that the cathedral was High Church, while the other was “only” (his words, not mine) Low Church. According to him, the High Church is more Anglo-Catholic while the Low Church is Protestant. Once I commented that if he was traveling & went to a place with no High Church, he’d go to a Low Church if one was available (since I will go to a synagogue of any branch when away). He insisted that he’d never set foot in a Low Church, that the High Church had more in “Communion” with the Roman Catholic church & that’s where he’d go. When the Episcopalian church began to ordain women, my friend was one of a bunch that I know of who left the church in protest. My friend told me that many went to different branches of the Orthodox church or Catholic churches, he went to an Anglican Rite Old Catholic church. So entire congregations breaking away from the Anglican community doesn’t surprise me. I wonder how long the breakwawy churches will last. If they are old, well-established, well-funded churches they might make it. If they are newer churches, or congregations with small memberships, they may die without the support of the whole Anglican community. It seems like a rah decision to me. Josie, I thoroughly agree with your “hate drains life’ statement. Very well put, hon.

By Donna H on 12/04/2008 9:23 am

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Donna- That is true about the high low part. I went to a High church in Nashville. It was a two hour service with chanting, lots of incense, soar knees from kneeling, sitting, standing, kneeling again, you get the picture. I took my cousin when we were 10 or 11 and the incense made her throw up all over the pew in front. To this day she tells that story as to her reason for no incense tolerance. What do think about Serena’s idea about the bumper sticker?

By Josie Sullivan on 12/04/2008 1:11 pm

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Top ten reasons to be an Episcopalian: 10. No snake handling. 9. You can believe in dinosaurs. 8. Male and female, God created them; male and female, we ordain them. 7. You don’t have to check your brains at the door. 6. Pew aerobics. 5. Church year is color coded! 4. Free wine on Sunday. 3. All of the pageantry, none of the guilt. 2. You don’t have to know how to swim to get baptized. And the number one reason for being an Episcopalian: 1. No matter what you believe, there’s bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

By Lady Agnew on 12/04/2008 9:26 am