Bishop of California Marc Andrus Affirms Place of LGBT in Episcopal Church In House of Bishops Meeting

Excluding LGBT people from the Episcopal Church in some parts of America leaves "empty places all over the United States where their graceful presences are missing," the Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Bishop of the Diocese of California, told Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and the Church's House of Bishops Thursday (10/20). " This is also true for me regarding Gene Robinson," Bishop Andrus added, reaffirming his support for the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.

The House of Bishops is meeting with Archbishop Williams in New Orleans to address a demand from Anglican church leaders that the American church bar LGBT people from becoming bishops or priests of the Episcopal Church. These leaders have also called on the US Episcopal Church not to adopt rites for blessing same gender couples.

Here's the full text of remarks Bishop Marc's statement in the House of Bishops yesterday:

Most Reverend Sir, Honored Guests from the Communion,

"I am Marc Andrus, Bishop of the Diocese of California. I have been given the grace of serving a diocese that encompasses enormous diversity, both in what we call the natural environment, and also in what we might call human ecology. I grew up in the American South where to my consciousness human diversity was cast in terms of Black and White.

"In the California Bay Area the societal parameters for inclusion, outside even the concerns of the Church, are wide ranging: gender, ethnicity, economic, and sexual orientation. All of these parameters have received intense attention in the civil society, and have also been the concerns of the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area.

"With respect to sexual orientation, it must be said that the Episcopal Church is the main refuge for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people who are seeking to lead a Christian life. These people are primarily not natives of the Bay Area, they come from all over the United States and indeed the world. They have come to San Francisco and the Bay Area seeking a life where they are not subjected to discrimination and violence, where they can lead normal lives, and in some cases, Christian lives. It is my responsibility to provide a context for this search for holiness of life.

"It is also important to say here that the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area is immeasurably enriched by the presence of LGBT people in our parishes and missions. These are gifted, faithful Christian people, lay and ordained, passionate about their faith and church. It is hard to imagine what the Diocese of California would be like without these great people, but I can get something of a picture by remembering the many places I've lived from which they have come to the Bay Area, places where they were barred from employment, pushed out of their homes and families, and yes, found cold welcome in churches, and tragically in some instances, were subjected to physical violence. For every one of these men and women enlivening the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of California there are empty places all over the United States where their graceful presences are missing.

"This is also true for me regarding Gene Robinson. He has helped this body of bishops of the Church with intelligence, passion, humility and great courage over the past four years, and I know he has served his diocese in the same manner. I hope, simply, that there will not be a Gene-shaped space at the Lambeth Conference where the living child of God Gene should be."

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