They'll do Anything, Won't They?

With the election of openly gay Reverend Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, the Episcopal Church has taken another step in the acceptance of gays and lesbians. Reverend Robinson's election was almost run off the rails at the last minute by unsubstantiated charges of sexual misconduct. The quick dismissal of these charges says something about the Episcopal church leadership refusing to be intimidated by their right-wing. But the fact they were raised in the first place is more proof of how the right wing will do or say anything to promote its agenda and defeat any other's. The same is true of the political right-wing in the United States, but that's a subject for another column.

While many denominations have now given themselves over to the most abject surrender to intolerance, and the Catholic church seems to be returning to medievalism (despite the heroic resistance by a few progressive congregations), the Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, and Universalist-Unitarians have validated that gays and lesbians have something to contribute--aside from dollars--to world Christianity.