SAN DIEGO: Episcopal Diocese ordains its first openly gay deacon

By Jenifer Goodwin
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20080621-9999-1c21deacon.html
June 21, 2008

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego took another step toward the full acceptance of gays with the ordination of its first openly gay deacon.

During a month in which thousands of same-sex couples were able to marry in California, Thomas Wilson was ordained to the transitional diaconate by San Diego Bishop James Mathes at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral. Wilson, who moved to San Diego eight years ago with his partner of 20 years, is expected to serve as a deacon for six months to a year before becoming a priest, Mathes said.

Yet the bishop downplayed the significance of Wilson's sexual orientation. Mathes said he was not aware that a press release had been sent by the diocese with the headline: "Openly Gay, Partnered Deacon Ordained! First One in This Diocese Ever!"

"The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego calls and ordains gifted people," Mathes said. "That's all this is."

Wilson, 59, also downplayed the significance of his ordination.

"The church has been discussing this issue for a number of years, and I don't know if there will be a resolution," he said, when asked if the church has further to go in its acceptance of gays. "But I think the very fact we'rediscussing it is a hopeful sign."

The ordination of gay clergy has been a lightning rod for controversy in the Episcopal Church, a denomination with more than 2 million members nationwide, as church leaders have struggled to reconcile theological tradition with a changing world and some congregants' more tolerant views. The issue came to a head in 2003 when a gay priest was elected bishop in New Hampshire.

The move led dozens of congregations across the United States, including nine of 50 congregations in the San Diego diocese, to split from the Episcopal church. Many formed new, more conservative congregations affiliated with the Anglican church.

The Rev. Keith Acker, who left an Episcopal church in Alpine with a group of parishioners to start Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity, said ordaining a gay deacon would cause further divisiveness.

"It's clearly something contrary to scripture. One of the requirements of a deacon is that he be 'the husband of one wife,' " Acker said. "I'm not sure how it could be made more explicit than that."

The debate over gay clergy comes at a time when the church is also trying to settle on its policy toward gay marriage.

San Diego's Episcopal Diocese has a reputation for conservatism, though that's gradually changing under Mathes, said Rev. Susan Russell, senior associate pastor at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena and president of Integrity, an advocacy organization for gay Episcopalians.

Mathes said in a statement that he supports the California Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage and opposes the November ballot measure against same-sex marriage. However, Mathes has not authorized priests to conduct the ceremonies.

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego includes churches in San Diego and Imperial counties, southern Riverside County and Yuma, Ariz.

Gay Episcopalians hailed Wilson's ordination as an important step in the full inclusion of all of the church's faithful and likened opposition to the outcry that accompanied the ordination of the first female priests in the 1970s.

"This is a step forward not just for gay and lesbian people but for all of those who want to be part of a church where we focus on bringing people to the table, not keeping people away from it," said Russell, who was busy performing same-sex marriages this week.

Mathes, spiritual leader of the diocese that includes about 25,000 parishioners, ordained Wilson on June 7 after a lengthy vetting process by a committee of congregants at St. Paul's Cathedral, and two diocese committees of lay people and clergy. Prospective deacons undergo multiple interviews and physical and psychological evaluations, and develop projects to address community needs.

Mathes declined to discuss whether Wilson's sexual orientation was considered, or if he thought a gay deacon could cause further divisions.

"I think the Episcopal church and the diocese of San Diego is in a great place, and we are blessed to have two new deacons serving in our church," Mathes said, referring to Wilson and Cherry Rhemboldt from St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, who was ordained during the same service.

According to information from the diocese, Wilson, an Ohio native, worked as a high school teacher in Cleveland and Cincinnati before earning a master of divinity degree in 1980. He had a varied career, including stints as program director for education for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and associate director of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in Washington, D.C.

In San Diego, he served in various roles during services at the cathedral, including leading morning and evening prayer, and worked as a coordinator for finance and facilities at St. Paul's Cathedral.

After Wilson is ordained as a priest, he may be asked to become a member of the clergy at a church in San Diego or elsewhere.

"As Episcopalians, we are called to live out our Baptismal Covenant, to proclaim the Good News, to build up the Body of Christ," Wilson said in the press release. "This is the life I am committed to living. This is the community I want to build up and serve."

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