9 couples will have their weddings acknowledged by their home congregation

From Dallas-

Bishop Gene Robinson will be the guest preacher at the Sunday morning service at the Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle.

Robinson, the first openly-gay Episcopal bishop, will be in town to celebrate the commencement of same-sex marriage in Episcopal churches in the Dallas diocese.

Nine married couples that are members of St. Thomas but married elsewhere will be blessed at the Holy Eucharist Service on Sunday morning at the celebration of “All sacraments for all people.”
“For us, it’s an emotional moment,” said St. Thomas member Carl Youngberg.

He said the former Dallas bishop opposed same-sex marriage, and it was very disappointing when George Sumner was appointed bishop and announced there would be no same-sex marriages allowed in the diocese’s churches.

More here-

https://www.dallasvoice.com/marriages-will-be-blessed-at-st-thomas/

AN INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP GENE ROBINSON ABOUT POLITICS AND FAITH IN AMERICA

From World Religion News-

On June 7, 2003, Gene Robinson was elected Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, becoming the first openly-gay and partnered priest to be elected Bishop in historic Christendom. Despite national and international opposition and efforts to derail his consecration, Robinson was consecrated bishop on November 2, 2003, and served as IX Bishop of New Hampshire until his retirement in early 2013.

Following his retirement, and prior to coming to Chautauqua, Robinson served as a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank in Washington, DC, speaking and writing on national and international LGBT issues, race, poverty, and immigration reform. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Auburn Seminary, New York City. In addition to being a popular speaker in the U.S. and abroad, he has regularly written opinion columns on a variety of topics for The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, and Time.com. Earlier in his ministry, he coordinated ministry for the seven dioceses of New England, authored the “Being Well in Christ” conference model on clergy wellness, initiated and co-authored “Fresh Start,” a two-year mentoring program for all clergy in new positions now in use in nearly half of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church. Much of his ministry has focused on helping congregations and clergy, especially in times of conflict, utilizing his skills in congregational dynamics, conflict resolution and mediation.

More here-

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/christianity/interview-bishop-gene-robinson-politics-faith-united-states

Robinson enjoys life on the fringes

From San Francisco-

Despite the encroaching darkness in the body politic, retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, in a visit to the largely LGBTQ Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist in San Francisco, believes these dejected days might be the birth pangs of a new revitalized religious left movement.

"In every age there are those who point to signs that the world, as we know it, is about to end. It feels that way in America right now, doesn't it?" Robinson said during the December 3 service. "The church's season of Advent is about where to find God in the midst of the chaos all around us."

Robinson made headlines in 2003 when he became the first openly gay bishop in any major Christian denomination. He served almost a decade as head of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire before his retirement in 2013.

The title of his sermon: "Jesus Doesn't Need Any More Admirers!" was meant to be a call to action, one of many comments he made to the Bay Area Reporter in a sit down interview.

More here-

http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=73174

Bishop Gene Robinson headed to Chautauqua Institution

From Chautauqua NY-

Retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson will be joining the leadership of the Chautauqua Institution.

Robinson will assume the new role of vice president and senior pastor of Chautauqua Institution, effective Sept. 1. His appointment is part of plans announced this week by President Michael Hill to reorganize the institution’s Department of Religion, according to information on the Chautauqua website at www.ciweb.org. Maureen Rovegno, the longtime associate director of religion, will be promoted to director of religion.

Robinson is currently a fellow at the Center for American Progress. He retired as the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire in 2013. A decade earlier, he had become the first openly gay and partnered priest to be elected bishop in the Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://www.goerie.com/entertainmentlife/20170520/in-brief-bishop-gene-robinson-headed-to-chautauqua-institution

First openly gay Episcopal bishop speaks on forgiveness

From Massachusetts-

Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, spoke on forgiveness during his keynote talk on Sunday at an interfaith conference at Williams College.

Robinson's election and consecration as Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 and 2004, caused an international uproar in the world-wide Anglican Communion of churches. Robinson served as an openly gay priest in the Episcopal tradition for over 30 years. He is originally from Lexington, Ky., and speaks with a soft southern accent.

"You know a little bit about this story, I'm sure, in the ensuing years and if you know any of that story, then you know why Gene Robinson is one of the great heroes for many of us," said Williams College Chaplain Rick Spalding in introducing Robinson. "I'm sure he would say not because of any particular qualities of personal heroism. He's a pastor, like countless others, but in the wisdom of the great mystery, he was also the right person at the right place at the right time, thanks be to God."

More here-

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_29779215/first-openly-gay-episcopal-bishop-speaks-forgiveness

The Difference Between Kim Davis and a Conscientious Objector (Gene Robinson)

Gene Robinson in Time-

The inmates at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility apparently were not the only law breakers Pope Francis met with during his brief visit to the U.S. The Vatican has now confirmed that the pope met privately with Kim Davis, the county clerk in Rowan County, Ky., who notoriously went to jail rather than issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her jurisdiction.

Davis broke the law and appears to be neither repentant for what she did nor sorry for the decision she made, which landed her in jail for five days. Rather, she seems proud of her act of civil disobedience, vows that she would do it again, and sincerely seems to believe she is taking one on the chin for Jesus. She has become a celebrity among those conservative Christians who condemn homosexuality and the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring marriage equality a constitutional right.

More here-

http://time.com/4057446/pope-francis-kim-davis-conscientious-objection/

WHITE HOUSE INVITES SEVERAL OPPONENTS OF CATHOLIC TEACHING TO GREET POPE FRANCIS

From Breitbart-

In a stunning show of political indecorum, Obama has invited a series of individuals who publicly flout Catholic teaching, including a pro-abortion religious sister, a transgender woman and the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, along with at least two Catholic gay activists.

The White House was illuminated in gay pride colors on June 26, 2015, after the Supreme Court legalized gay same-sex marriage.

One of the invitees, retired Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, made history by becoming the first openly gay episcopal bishop in 2003 and subsequently the first to divorce his gay partner in 2014, after having previously separated from his wife of 14 years. He has attended a number of religious events with the Obama administration, offering a prayer at President Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and taking part in the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast.

More here-

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/09/16/white-house-invites-trio-catholic-dissenters-greet-pope-francis/

First Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop Announces Divorce

From NPR-

Bishop Gene Robinson says he and his husband, Mark Andrew, are getting a divorce. The first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Robinson retired last year, a decade after his election alienated many conservative Anglicans.

The pair had been together for 25 years. Robinson disclosed the divorce this weekend, in an email to the Diocese of New Hampshire and in a column for The Daily Beast in which he wrote:

"My belief in marriage is undiminished by the reality of divorcing someone I have loved for a very long time, and will continue to love even as we separate. Love can endure, even if a marriage cannot. It will take a lot of work, a lot of grieving, and a large measure of hope to see it through. And that's where my faith comes in."

"Life is hard," the retired bishop said, "and that is true whether you're in your teens or in your 'golden years.' "

More here-

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/04/309551778/first-openly-gay-episcopal-bishop-announces-divorce

Gene Robinson, first openly gay Episcopal bishop, announces his divorce

From RNS-

Bishop Gene Robinson, whose 2003 election as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop rocked Anglican Communion, has announced his divorce from his longtime partner and husband.

Robinson, who retired in 2013 as the Bishop of New Hampshire, and his partner of 25 years, Mark Andrew, were married in a private civil union in 2008. The announcement was made public Saturday (May 3) in a statement to the Diocese of New Hampshire.

“As you can imagine, this is a difficult time for us — not a decision entered into lightly or without much counseling,” Robinson wrote in a letter. “We ask for your prayers, that the love and care for each other that has characterized our relationship for a quarter century will continue in the difficult days ahead.”

More here-

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/05/03/gene-robinson-first-openly-gay-episcopal-bishop-divorce/

also here-

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/04/a-bishop-s-decision-to-divorce.html

Openly gay bishop astounded by 'progress'

From Pittsburgh-

Ten years ago this month, Gene Robinson was ordained in New Hampshire as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church -- and in his own words, "all hell broke loose" in the denomination and among its global partners in the Anglican Communion.

The now-retired Bishop Robinson, speaking to a small but supportive audience at East Liberty Presbyterian Church Saturday, said he's astounded at the changes in the political and religious climate in the past decade.

Gay marriage has become legal in about 15 states -- when Bishop Robinson was ordained a bishop, there was no place in the country where he could legally marry his longtime partner, which he was eventually able to do in New Hampshire. And while homosexuality continues to be debated and opposed in many religious denominations, Bishop Robinson noted that the ordination of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's first openly gay bishop in September in California made a blip in the news.

Read more:

 http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2013/11/10/Openly-gay-bishop-astounded-by-progress/stories/201311100195#ixzz2kEpD9BIP

Robed victim? Questions linger over ‘plentiful’ death threats against retired gay bishop

From World Magazine-

Newly retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, The Episcopal Church’s first openly homosexual bishop, often refers to his own courage in the face of danger. At his 2003 consecration as bishop of New Hampshire, he talked about wearing a bullet-proof vest. When he announced his retirement in 2010, he said death threats “have been a constant strain” and factored into his retiring seven years before the church’s mandatory retirement age. In a January interview, he told National Public Radio, “The death threats were plentiful, almost daily, for a couple of years.”

But New Hampshire State Police have no record of any death threats against Robinson. The Concord Police Department, where Robinson worked for seven years, said it has reports on five threats: two in 2004, one in 2005, and two in 2009.

In public appearances, Robinson tells the vivid story of a man arrested in Vermont with a shotgun, ammunition, and a photo of Robinson on which he had scrawled, “Save the church, kill the bishop.” Stephanie Dasaro, a spokesperson for the Vermont State Police, told WORLD a “cursory search of our database” indicated “Bishop Robinson does not seem to appear in our records.” The Concord Police Department did confirm that one of its five reports was a referral from Vermont, but would not release additional information. 

More here-

http://www.worldmag.com/2013/01/robed_victim

The Theology of Everything-Is-Beautiful-In-Its-Own-Way

From Rusty Reno-

After I left the Episcopal Church to enter the Catholic Church a half a dozen years ago, a good and wise friend told me to avoid taking pot shots from afar. Sage advice.

But a video by Gene Robinson this is part of the It Gets Better campaign has a line that strikes me as telling, and I can’t resist commenting.

Robinson was the first openly gay person elevated to the episcopacy in the Episcopal Church. The goal if the video, which is part of a series, is to speak to gay and lesbian teens whose attitudes and circumstances may be leading them to contemplate suicide. It’s certainly a good thing to discourage anyone from despairing of the gift of life, but I was struck by a comment that comes at around the 1:45 mark.

Robinson says, “God loves you just the way you are,” and then he goes on to day, “God doesn’t want you to change.”

Robinson has in mind, of course, the question of sexual orientation, but I found the sentiment arresting. The main word of Christ, it seems, is affirmative. You’re great. You’re doing fine. No need to change.

I must say, by my reading at least, the New Testament says something very different. Jesus is forever warning his disciples that, if they wish to follow him, their lives are in for some very big changes. And the Sermon on the Mount? It’s a demanding ethic, not a affirmative hug.

More here-

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/11/12/the-theology-of-everything-is-beautiful-in-its-own-way/

Gay Episcopal bishop says he isn't being 'run off'

From The LA Times-

It was less than a month ago that V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church, appeared in a YouTube video assuring gay and lesbian teenagers who were "in a dark place" that their lives would get better.

"I am an out and proud gay man who is also the bishop of New Hampshire," he said, staring into the camera, dressed in the purple shirt of his office. "And I am living proof that it gets better."

On Saturday, Robinson stood before a shocked diocesan convention and delivered a different message. Citing the strain of constant controversy, including death threats, he said he had decided to step down in January 2013, when he will be 65, seven years younger than the usual retirement age for an Episcopal bishop.

"The fact is," he said, addressing his parishioners, "the last seven years have taken their toll on me, my family, and you."

In the aftermath of that announcement, Robinson insisted in an interview Monday that he was not throwing in the towel, and hadn't been defeated by the detractors who blamed his election for widening a rift in the worldwide Anglican Communion over homosexuality.

More here-

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-episcopal-bishop-20101110,0,5700614.story

Gene Robinson goes but rift remains: strain proves too much for gay bishop

From The London Guardian-

The rift in the Anglican communion over homosexuality was reopened today after its first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, said he was retiring early because seven years of controversy had "taken their toll" on him, his family and followers.

Robinson's consecration in the diocese of New Hampshire in 2003 had brought conservatives and liberals in the Anglican communion to the brink of schism.

As the first non-celibate gay clergyman in the Anglican communion to become a bishop, his appointment exposed irreconcilable theological divisions between liberals and conservatives that reverberate to this day.

Last year, North American traditionalists broke away from the US Episcopal church to set up their own network. This year, Episcopalians consecrated a non-celibate lesbian to the post of assistant bishop in Los Angeles.

Robinson told the New Hampshire gathering that "the constant strain" was too much to bear.

He said: "Death threats, and the now-worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as bishop, have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark, who has faithfully stood with me every minute of the last seven years, and in some ways, you.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/gene-robinson-anglican-us-episcopal

Gene Robinson, first openly gay Episcopal bishop, announces his retirement

From Boston-

The first openly gay Episcopal bishop, whose consecration instigated a global religious controversy, announced today that he would take early retirement, citing stress from the experience.

Bishop V. Gene Robinson will be 65 when he steps down in January 2013, seven years below the mandatory retirement age for Episcopal bishops.

Robinson announced his plans at the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in Concord. He said he gave the two-year transition to give the diocese enough time to find and elect a new bishop who will then be subject to approval from the national church.

“Since the very beginning, I have attempted to discern God’s will for me and for you, and this decision comes after much prayer and discernment about what God wants for us at this time,” Robinson said in his prepared remarks.

Robinson made it clear that the stress of being the focal point of discussion in the Anglican Communion has taken a toll on him. Robinson has been at the center of an international uproar over whether a married, openly gay man should lead a church that disapproves of homosexuality.

“The fact is, the last seven years have taken their toll on me, my family, and you,” he said. “Death threats, and the now-worldwide controversy surrounding your election of me as Bishop, have been a constant strain, not just on me, but on my beloved husband, Mark, who has faithfully stood with me every minute of the last seven years.”

More here-

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/11/gene_robinson_f.html

Gay US bishop attacks treatment of gay and lesbian clergy by Church of England

From the London Guardian-

The first openly gay bishop in the Anglican communion has launched an outspoken attack on the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Gene Robinson, the Episcopalian bishop of New Hampshire, criticised the policy of the Church of England towards gay and lesbian clergy. Alluding to the significant number of clergy who are gay, he said: "I think gay clergy in the Church of England are thought of as a problem to be solved or at least lived with, rather than a gift from God."

Robinson, who is in Britain to speak at the Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham Racecourse this weekend, added that he could not accept the archbishop's recent comments that if the Episcopal church refused to uphold the current moratorium on consecrating actively gay bishops or blessing civil unions, the communion might have to be reorganised into a two-tier, or "two-track" model. "I can't imagine anything that would be more abhorrent to Jesus than a two-tier church," he said. "Either we are children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ, or we aren't. There are not preferred children and second-class children. There are just children of God."

Asked whether Williams's softly, softly approach might in the end be more successful in persuading the communion than unilateral action by one church, he pointed out that the very nature of the communion — a loose agglomeration of equals — meant that national churches were always acting autonomously. Furthermore, someone had to make the first move.

"We [Episcopalians] virtually led the way in terms of the ordination of women. And I believe had we not done that the ordination of women in the Church of England perhaps would not have occurred when it did. And the discussion around the ordination of women bishops would not be occurring."

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/28/gay-bishop-attack-church-england

The Fictional World of Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson

From Catholic Online-

New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson told a large audience at St. Mark's Cathedral, Salt Lake City, Utah, recently that at the end of the day the Anglican Communion will be fine. During the address he gave an upbeat report about the Anglican Communion's future citing, among other things, Desmond Tutu, his own sexual proclivities and why the wider Anglican Communion will ultimately hold together.

Bishop Robinson's ability at fiction writing and story-telling was apparently evident in the book-signing of his latest book, "In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God", once priced in hardcover for $25.00 and now available for $5.63 at Amazon.com. Many, however, believe he was "swept to the center" not by God, but by votes of the HOB and Standing Committees of a theologically brain scrambled denomination who long ago ditched their Bibles in favor of a cultural zeitgeist more amenable and malleable to pansexuality than biblical revelation.

"These last few years have been another chapter in God's people trying to find out how broad and merciful is God and God's love. We can be proud of our response," said Robinson.

Really. If "breadth" and "merciful" are the indicators, Robinson needs to explain the continuing withering of The Episcopal Church along with an horrendous fall off in members since he was consecrated bishop in 2003. How does he explain the advent of The Anglican Church in North America with more than 100,000 members, most of whom he is indirectly responsible for because of his sexual behavior. Or what of the "merciful" actions of PB Katharine Jefferts Schori who has adopted a Berlin Wall approach to fleeing Episcopalians?

More here-

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=34335

Church festival draws criticism

From the BBC-

Among those addressing the Greenbelt festival this year is the Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, a gay man whose ordination by the Episcopalian Church was greeted with both outrage and celebration in various parts of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Many people did not welcome his elevation, and the issue of gay clergy has become so contentious that it threatens to divide global Anglicans - some say it has already begun.

Last month, the Episcopal Church voted to end a three-year moratorium on electing gay Bishops, a move which may ultimately push the US Church out of the Communion.

This begs the question, why did Greenbelt's organisers invite one of the most controversial figures in the Church to speak, a decision which was bound to draw criticism from some sections?

Festival coordinator Beki Bateson, says the invitation was made solely on the strength of Bishop Robinson's earlier speaking appearances at other venues, and that his is just one voice amongst many.

"Sometimes those voices are not always programmed at the same festival and some issues including the debate around sexuality have been addressed over a number of years from varying perspectives."


More here-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8220895.stm

Bishop Robinson: No Clergy Permission to Perform Same-Sex Weddings

Contrary to a published report, the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, has not given permission for diocesan clergy to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed legislation June 4 that made the state the sixth to legalize same-sex marriage.

The website of the North Andover, Mass., Eagle-Tribune newspaper had quoted the Rev. Carolyn Stevenson, rector of St. David’s Church in Salem, N.H., as saying that Bishop Robinson had changed his policy with the new law, giving pastors “the option of performing a religious blessing or a regular marriage ceremony” and that she would choose to marry the couples.

“She totally misrepresented [Bishop Robinson’s] position and the Bishop has spoken with her about this,” said Paula A. Biber, executive assistant to Bishop Robinson. Ms. Biber is the diocese’s contact person for information about permission to officiate at weddings in Episcopal churches in the state.

In statement published on the Diocese of New Hampshire website Bishop Robinson explained that the current policy is that “any civil union is to be presided over by a secular magistrate of the State and not, by our clergy. When pastorally appropriate and only if the clergyperson is so inclined, may the church’s blessing of that union be offered.”

Civil marriage of same-gender couples does not become law until Jan. 1, 2010.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/6/5/bishop-robinson-no-clergy-permission-to-perform-same-sex-weddings

Archbishop of Sudan calls for New Hampshire bishop Gene Robinson to resign

From the London Guardian-

There were renewed calls yesterday for the resignation of the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, the openly gay bishop of New Hampshire, and of the clergy those who consecrated him.

The demand came from the Archbishop of Sudan, the Most Reverend Daniel Deng, who last summer shocked Anglicans by issuing a statement condemning the 2003 decision to consecrate Robinson, a non-celibate gay man, and the US bishops responsible for his appointment.

The position was supported by the Episcopal Church of Sudan, which with has four million followers, 300 primary schools and 24 dioceses. It had previously remained neutral on the issue of homosexuality. The unexpected statement was of special concern for the US Episcopal Church, which enjoys close ties to the African country.

On the penultimate day of a meeting between the world's archbishops and senior bishops to address regional and international concerns, Deng was asked whether he had changed his stance on Robinson and the US Episcopal Church.

He replied: "We are asking that within the primates meeting and the situation on the statement remains the same. We have not deviated. What is needed is for churches in the Anglican world to wrestle with these issues so it comes to an end."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/04/religion-sudan