Recanting a vote for gay clergy Episcopal bishop's stance change heard at diocese council

BY ALBERTA LINDSEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

RESTON (1/29/2005)--The Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee says he will no longer vote to affirm anyone as a bishop who is living in a same-gender relationship until there is wider acceptance of homosexuals as church leaders.

Lee, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, got into hot water with some members of the diocese when he voted at the denomination's 2003 General Convention for the consecration of Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, as bishop of New Hampshire.


Some laity and clergy called for Lee to step aside. Others withheld donations from the diocese, giving instead to specific ministries.

Lee's comments on his new position came in a videotape of his pastoral address yesterday at the opening session of the 210th Annual Council of the diocese. Lee was undergoing testing in preparation for triple-bypass heart surgery Monday. The Rt. Rev. David Colin Jones, bishop suffragan, is standing in for Lee, who usually presides over the meeting.

Almost 1,000 elected leaders of the largest Episcopal diocese in the country will wind up two days of policy and budget deliberations this afternoon at the Hyatt Regency in Reston. Before adjourning, however, the council will address a number of resolutions related to the consecration of the denomination's first openly gay bishop.

This year's council meeting with the theme, "So Much to be Done as One," clearly is aimed at bringing about reconciliation in the diocese, which has been divided over issues related to gays and lesbians in the church.

In his address, Lee also said the diocese will continue its policy of refraining from public blessings of same-sex unions.

"That restraint, however, does not mean withholding pastoral care or denying full inclusion to gay and lesbian people in our midst," he added.

Lee also said that based on the volume of mail he received after the 2003 General Convention, "there were some who made it quite clear they wanted me gone and others who thought I had not gone far enough. I remain the bishop of all people in this diocese, whether they are happy with me or not."

The bishop drew applause when he said that in traveling the diocese in the past 18 months, he has found about 10 percent to 20 percent of people in the diocese are "very upset" about the General Convention's decisions. Another 5 percent to 10 percent find those decisions progressive and hopeful. And about 70 percent are determined not to let those differences keep them from their mission or divide the diocese.

Lee had previously said he voted to confirm Robinson because he was elected by the people of New Hampshire, who knew they were electing a homosexual as their bishop.

During yesterday's address, Lee said the General Convention acted unilaterally in its decision to confirm Robinson. Americans are known throughout the world for a tendency toward unilateral action, he added.

"We are criticized for unilateral actions in military interventions, in foreign policy, in the spread of our media culture, and we have a reputation for little regard for the impact of our behavior on other nations and cultures."

But the New Testament calls for Christians to voluntarily refrain from actions that hurt or create stumbling blocks for others, Lee said.

A statement from a diocesan Commission on Reconciliation, appointed last year by Lee, was distributed to council members.

The 12-page statement noted that people in the diocese are not likely to resolve their differences over the interpretation of what scripture has to say about sexuality. "Any reconciliation is only possible if we stand together at the foot of the cross of Christ," the statement said.

The reduction in donations to the diocese since the fall of 2003 has had a significant impact on the group's work, Lee said. Most diocesan staff members who have left since then have not been replaced because of a lack of money. Vacant positions include director of development and assistant to the bishop for congregational development, both of which would help strengthen the life of congregations, he said.

According to a diocesan spokeswoman, parish pledges to the diocese's 2004 budget decreased by 19 percent.

Mike Kerr, treasurer of the diocese, reported that pledges for 2005 are up more than 5 percent over 2004. And there are still some churches that have not pledged.

"I think the overwhelming majority of the diocese wants to move on," Kerr said.

END