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Black Episcopalians: Minority concerns trump gay ordination
Leaders say church should instead fight poverty and racism, address conservative/liberal divide
Published Thursday, 24-Aug-2006 in issue 974
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – National Episcopal leadership is focusing on the issue of gay ordination at the cost of addressing minority concerns, and is enlisting African bishops to fight a battle that’s not theirs, speakers told a recent gathering of black Episcopalians.
The church should look instead at fighting poverty and racism, and address the conservative versus liberal divide that underlies the gay debate, speakers said at the 38th annual conference of the Union of Black Episcopalians.
The national group, which represents close to 400,000 black Episcopalians, met in Richmond for a week earlier this month.
About 500 clergy and parishioners attended discussions on topics such as reaching out to young black boys and strengthening the nation’s historically black Episcopal colleges.
At an introductory luncheon, speakers touched on everything from increasing black leadership in the largely white denomination to breaking down intraracial barriers between African and African-American Episcopalians.
Reaction was strongest, however, on the ordination of gays and lesbians – an issue that black leaders say has ballooned out of proportion.
“We waste our time trying to figure out who’s sleeping with whom, instead of being about doing the work of mission and ministry,” the Rev. Sandye Wilson, the group’s immediate past president, told an applauding crowd. “Don’t get sidetracked.”
The issue of gay ordination has been the focus of intense scrutiny in the Anglican church, of which the Episcopalians are a part, since 2003. That’s when American Episcopal leaders elected the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, of New Hamp-shire.
The controversy has split the denomination, with some saying scriptures condemn same-sex relationships and others arguing for a more inclusive church.
Earlier this month, the Anglican leaders awaited the announcement of an exclusive overseer for several conservative U.S. dioceses.
Among black Episcopalians, however, the issue takes a backseat to more standard minority concerns, treasurer John Harris said, such as improving the economy, health care and education. Episcopal leaders meet to discuss church issues at the General Convention every three years.
“The issues that the General Convention [has] been obsessed with have not been as important to black Episcopalians sitting in pews,” Harris said. “We’re still behind the eight ball.”
Top among black Episcopalians’ concerns is forming a singular voice that can share thoughts on racism and poverty with the larger church, Wilson said.
But their experiences haven’t gone unnoticed, said Robert Williams, a spokesperson for the Episcopal Church.
“The Union of Black Episcopalians is absolutely correct in identifying that life and death issues such as the eradication of hunger and poverty must have the church’s full attention,” he said. “The Episcopal church’s record for civil rights achievement has been strong.”
Wilson linked the debate over gay ordination to the decades-old ordination of women – a pill she said conservative leaders never fully swallowed. With women now incorporated into many churches, she said gays and lesbians have become a new scapegoat.
She joined other leaders who said the church enlisted the support of right-leaning African bishops while overlooking issues facing their continent, including the HIV crisis.
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