St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville presents the Rev. V. Gene Robinson (retired) speaking at 7 p.m. today and 10 a.m. Sunday.
These sessions are part of St. Paul’s McMichael Series of lectures.
“He’s been one of the most significant figures in the Episcopal Church in the last decade,” said Lowell Grisham, rector of St. Paul’s.
“He was the first openly gay bishop in the church.”
Robinson’s lecture is titled “Being a Prophet in Times of High Society.”
“We asked him to just talk about what is on his heart right now,” said Grisham.
The Diocese of New Hampshire appointed Robinson as Canon to the Ordinary (or the executive assistant to the bishop) in 1988.
He remained in this job for the next 17 years.
The diocese leadership elected him as bishop on June 7, 2003, upon review and consent of the General Convention.
Members argued whether Robinson should be allowed to become bishop, and a break with the international Anglican Communion was threatened.
The convention approved his election in August 2003.
Robinson announced his sexual orientation in the mid 1980s.
In 1988, Robinson and his life partner moved into a new house and had it blessed by the then-bishop, which they considered to be the formal recognition of their life together.
The couple was legally joined in June 2008 in both civil and religious ceremonies in the state of New Hampshire.
“The church had known him and watched him. He was known to be in a long-term relationship with his life partner,” Grisham said.
St. Paul’s members and clergy studied the issue of homosexuality in the religious community.
“It was a piece of work this community studied over several years,” Grisham said.
After months of “open and organized debate,” the congregation decided to offer ‘blessings’ of same-sex couples.
The Arkansas bishop gave St. Paul’s permission in 2006 to offer “rites of pastoral blessing” for committed same-gender couples, according to the church website.
Couples follow a process of preparation similar to that of heterosexual marriages.
St. Paul’s promotes the Anglican Church’s values for living in intimate relationships “fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God,” according to the website.
“The Episcopal Church holds all its members accountable to those values in their life-long committed relationships. Further, the church denounces promiscuity, exploitation and abusiveness in the relationships of any of our members.”
Robinson retired from the Episcopal Church on Jan. 5.
Religion, Pages 6 on 02/09/2013