New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) as the first openly gay bishop, visited Boston last Sunday to preach and lecture at Trinity Church in Copley Square.The afternoon lecture was provocatively titled "The faith of a gay bishop," and Robinson said a last-minute look at the title caused him to throw away his prepared text and speak relatively extemporaneously about his Christian faith.
A few excerpts . .
Reflecting on praying secretly with gay Christians in Hong Kong who said they find hope in the Episcopal Church's decision to approve of a gay bishop:
"We hear so often of the pain that the Episcopal Church has caused the rest of the world. Why is it that we don't hear about the hope we have given to so much of the rest of the world?"
On finding gay stories in the Bible:
"There are a couple of great stories about gay people in the Bible. Maybe you didn't know that. One of them is the Exodus story, which is the greatest coming out story in the history of the world. It is, don't laugh. Because we know what it's like to be in slavery. We know what it's like to be in bondage. We know what it's like not to be free. Because we've had the experience of someone coming and talking about a promised land, not just of milk and honey, but of freedom, and God's love and acceptance, and some of us actually believed it and left. We left Egypt to come out."
On persevering:
"How do I keep this up, day after day? Because we know how it's going to end, don't we? Our struggle is going to end with the full inclusion of gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, in the life and ministry and leadership of the church. I have no doubt whatsoever."
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Sotto Voce
(Source: TBC)