livius drusus

Rev. Gene Robinson was consecrated bishop of New Hampshire yesterday in a hockey rink ceremony attended by 3,000 people. From all descriptions, the spectators were more than a little elated by this big leap for Episcopalkind, so much so that the three objectors and the various conservative groups talk of schism could not suffice to dampen their enthusiasm. Fred Phelps managed to muster up 11 protestors outside the arena, but gay rights counter-protestors numbered in the hundreds.

Click on the speaker icon to the left of the main title link to hear the NPR Morning Edition story which has a great clip of the concert-like, almost giddy atmosphere at the event.

Steve_F

Good news.

11 whole protestors for Freddie!? Well done that man.

Clutch

My worry is that the media coverage, keen to sell a conflict story, will over-report the dissent and ignore those thousands of smiling, applauding Christians in the audience.

I suspect that lots of people don't entirely know what to think of this situation. If the story is sold as determined, right-thinking, and brave Christians standing up against a dissolute liberal church establishment, there could be a significant bandwagon effect.

livius drusus

I agree that there is a real danger as time passes and the glow fades that the media will focus on the disgruntled churchmen, and thereby calcify their resistance.

This is a worldwide issue and will doubtless be covered very differently by the international press. So far, it seems the coverage is characterizing the split as one between the progressive US Church and the conservative churches of various other countries. If that continues, I think we have reason for optimism that the US public will be glad to be the hip ones for a change.

Clutch

FoxNews.com story byline:
Fox News: the most-watched source of cable news.

I hope you're right, but the local (ie, American) effect will depend on what Americans in general are watching and reading.

andy_d

I say good on the church, for having the guts to at least try and drag themselves into the 21st century, even if it splits them.

There must be enough people within the church that feel strongly about the need to accept homosexuality for this to happen. The risk to their organisation's coherance is considerable, at least at the international level. I think we should recognise that many of them are trying to do the right thing.

Goliath

Good! The more they hate each other, the less they'll be able to actively hate us.

Sincerely,

Goliath

livius drusus

The byline is a classic of just the kind of emphasis you feared, but the story, actually, is not. For one thing, the protestors given top billing are African bishops, which I somehow suspect the Fox News viewership will be far more tempted to dismiss than quote. Furthermore, there is no mention of dissent between US Episcopalians, just the African, Australian, English conservatives going up against our Will and Grace cool.

Okay well maybe they didn't put it quite that way, but the point is that in that story, even Fox didn't point to any US dissenters. We shall see how long that lasts as the hockey rink euphoria fades.

abe smith

Of course I am in secular sympathy w/ those religionists's effort to get a gay bishop into their *sect's* hierarchy.
Apart from that fact, i'd like to comment that the whole to-do is a bunch of damn' foolishness; that all "religious" quarrels are bullshit!; that like all other sects's dogmata, the Episcopalian/Anglicans's dogmatic quarrels are as ridiculous as their costumery & rituals!; and baloney on all of them!
Nonsense! Nonsense! Nonsense!

As for the Canterbury's effort to blame queers for the political rifts in his ridiculous sect, nice try, Rowan, but no cigar.

NOBODY has seen fit to mention that their alleged lord, What's 's Name, is not on-record as EVER HAVING SAID ONE SINGLE WORD about homosexuals/ homosexuality! And as for Saul of Tarsus and his sycophants 's opinions about what "God" wants, they're all a bunch of self-appointed madmen.
What a circus; bring in the lions.

Clutch

Even the byline at least calls them conservatives (rather than The Resistance, or Spiritual Freedom Fighters, or anything else one might think impossible until Fox actually said it). As you say, time will tell.