Gene Robinson

 

The Rt Revd V. Gene Robinson

Denomination	Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Senior posting
See	New Hampshire
Title	Bishop of New Hampshire
Period in office	2004 — present
Consecration	November 2 2003
Predecessor	Douglas Edwin Theuner
Successor	Incumbent
Religious career
Priestly ordination	1973
Personal
Date of birth	May 29 1947 (1947--) (age 60)
Place of birth	Lexington, Kentucky

The Right Reverend Vicki Gene Robinson (born (May 29 1947 (1947--) (age 60)) is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (Adams 2006, p. 206).^[1] Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office on March 7, 2004. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as assistant to the retiring New Hampshire bishop.

Robinson is best known for being the first openly gay, noncelibate priest to be ordained to the historical episcopate. His homosexual feelings were privately acknowledged in the 1970s, when he studied in seminary, was ordained, married, and started a family. He went public with his sexual identity and divorced in the 1980s. When delegates to the Episcopal convention were voting on the ratification of his election, he was a controversial figure. His election was ratified 62 to 45. After his election, theologically conservative parishes have aligned themselves with bishops outside the Episcopal Church in the USA, a movement called the Anglican realignment. His story has appeared in print and film.

He was treated for alcoholism in 2006.

Background

Robinson was born (May 29 1947 (1947--) (age 60)) in Fayette County which surrounds Lexington, Kentucky (Adams 2006, p. 10). His parents were poor tenant farmers who worked in the tobacco fields as tobacco sharecroppers (Adams 2006, pp. 8-13). The family used an outhouse, drew water from a cistern, and did laundry in a cast-iron tub over an open flame. Their house did not have running water until Robinson was ten years old (Adams 2006, pp. 8-13).

When Robinson was born, he was so seriously ill that the doctor was certain he would not survive (Adams 2006, p. 10). He was temporarily paralyzed from birth and his head was misshapened (Adams 2006, p. 10). So likely was Robinson's death that the physician asked Robinson's father - Charles - for a name for the baby's birth and death certificates. Robinson's parents were young - his mother Imogene was twenty - and they were hoping for a girl (Adams 2006, p. 10). They named the baby Vicki Gene Robinson for Charle's father Victor and the baby's mother Imogene (Adams 2006, p. 10).^[2]

For a long time, Robinson's parents believed the boy would die soon (Adams 2006, p. 10). Much later in life, Robinson's father would tell him (Adams 2006, pp. 10-11),

“

I couldn't take any joy in you and your development because I always thought each step was going to be the last thing. So you rolled over; that was as far as you were ever going to go. Okay, so you sat up; that was as far as you were ever going to go.

”

Robinson's parents were and still are members of a small Disciples of Christ congregation (Adams 2006, p. 12). Robinson describes his childhood as (Adams 2006, p. 13),

“

very religious. The church was probably the only community anybody had outside of blood kin. The blood kin thing was really strong, and, because families have fights and stuff, church was nearly as strong, if not in some ways stronger. Church is still what my parents do...My parents are the most amazing Christians I've ever known. Now, they don't do a lot of talking about Jesus, actually, except at Sunday School. They didn't talk all about that, but in every moment of their lives, they're just doing it. It's really astounding

”

Robinson had perfect Sunday School attendance for thirteen years (Adams 2006, p. 14). Robinson has said ruefully that (Adams 2006, p. 14),

“

I remember going once [to Sunday School] and then telling my mother that I thought I had measles right after. I probably gave the entire class measles because I was just not going to miss. So that thirteen years of perfect attendance pins really means that I did not miss a single Sunday.

”

Robinson chose the University of the South in Sewanee in 1965 because they offered him a full scholarship (Adams 2006, p. 23). The University was founded in 1858 by the Episcopal dioceses of ten southern states - it was the Episcopalian college of the Confederate States (Adams 2006, p. 23). Robinson intended to study towards a medical degree but decided to major in American Studies (Adams 2006, p. 24). During his college days, Robinson began to seriously consider the ordained ministry and said (Adams 2006, p. 25),

“

It almost immediately felt right;it felt like a true call. And once I had figure that out, the only real dilemma for me was choosing whether or not to leave the Disciples and become an Episcopalian.

”

During high school and then college, Robinson had been exploring philosophical and theological questions and has said,"So it was at Sewanee that the Episcopal Church got a hold on me, and I was confirmed my senior year and went off to seminary that fall (Adams 2006, p. 26)."

During this period of The Episcopal Church, nearly half of all clergy had come from another denomination, and about half of those were from the Disciples of Christ (Adams 2006, p. 26). Robinson's opinion is that he thinks "part of the reason that could have happened is that the two share a sense of the centrality of the Eucharist (Adams 2006, p. 26)."

Robinson took himself and his new B.A. (1969) in American Studies to New York and Episcopalian General Theological Seminary leading toward a Master of Divinity degree (Adams 2006, p. 27). While doing an intern year as a chaplain at the University of Vermont, he met his future wife Boo and began dating (Adams 2006, p. 31). Robinson says that about "a month into their relationship, [he] explained his background and his fears about his sexuality (Adams 2006, p. 31)." They would continue dating, and as Robinson puts it "about a month before the marriage, [he] became frightened that ... this thing would raise its ugly head some day, and cause her and me great pain (Adams 2006, p. 31)." Robinson and Boo discusse it and decided to go ahead with the marriage in 1972 (Adams 2006, p. 31).

Robinson received his degree in 1973, and was ordained a deacon on 9 June 1973 at the cathedral in the diocese of Newark, New Jersy (Adams 2006, p. 33). Robinson served as curate at Christ Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey and was ordained a priest six months later (Adams 2006, p. 33). Robinson and his wife remained at the Ridgewood parish for two years until 1 June 1975 (Adams 2006, p. 45).

Robinson and his wife moved to New Hampshire in the summer of 1975 where Boo had grown up to start a business and ministry: in the winter it was called "The Sign of the Dove Retreat Center" and in the summer it became "The Pony Farm" (Adams 2006, p. 46-48). Boo still runs "The Pony Farm" as a horse camp for children (Adams 2006, p. 46).

In 1977, Robinson began working with a committee in the diocese of New Hampshire to study human sexuality and co-authored a small manual on the subject (Adams 2006, p. 52).

Robinson has no regrets having gotten married and says (Adams 2006, p. 57),

“

That is inextricably tied up with having children. And since I cannot imagine my life without Jamee and Ella, it's just a completely irrelevant question for me. And I don't regret having been married to Boo, either, even if there had not been children. It's just a part of my journey, and why would I possibly regret that?

”

Robinson and Boo's first daughter - Jamee - was born in 1977, followed by a second daughter - Ella - in 1981 (Adams 2006, p. 52).

Elizabeth Adams in her biography of Robinson says (Adams 2006, p. 55),

“

But in spite of the happiness of their family and the success of the retreat center, problems began to surface after about thirteen years of marriage. Gene's growing acceptance of his orientation began to make it clear to him and to his wife that he couldn't suppress who he really was much longer. They entered therapy around 1982 or 1983 and made the decision to separate in 1986.

”

Robinson came 'out' to his and Boo's friends and Robinson sold out his part of the business to Boo (Adams 2006, p. 56).

In Adams' biography, Robinson describes the divorce ceremony he and Boo devised (Adams 2006, p. 56),

“

We did something that was one of the most healing things in my whole life: we went back to church to end our marriage. We had taken those vows in front of God, and we didn't want to sneak away as if they had just melted or something. So we took a priest with us - a priest here in the diocese - to the judge's chambers for the final divorce decree, and then we went immediately back to his church, in Manchester, and celebrated the Eucharist together. In the context of that we asked forgiveness for whatever ways in which we had hurt one another, and we pledged ourselves to the joint raising of our children. We gave each other our wedding rings back, that symbol of the wedding vows that we no longer held each other to, and we cried a lot, and then we had Communion. It was just an - astounding moment.

”

Robinson and Boo remain friends (Adams 2006, p. 56).

In November 1987, Robinson met his current partner - Mark Andrews - while on vacation in St. Croix (Adams 2006, p. 72). Andrews was on vacation and worked in Washinton, DC at the national office of the Peace Corps (Adams 2006, p. 72). On 2 July 1988, Robinson and Andrews moved into their new house and had it blessed by Bishop Douglas Theuner, "an event which they considered to be the formal recognition of their life together (Adams 2006, p. 73)." Andrews currently works in the New Hampshire state government (Adams 2006, p. 72). They plan on holding a civil union ceremony and a separate religious marriage ceremony in the middle of 2008.^[3] Robinson has two granddaughters.^[4][1]

Robinson was active in the raising of his daughters after the divorce (Adams 2006, p. 56). During the school week, the two girls lived with their mother and her new husband (Adams 2006, p. 56).

Robinson became Canon to the Ordinary in 1988, that is the executive assistant to the new - as of April 1986 - bishop of New Hampshire, Douglas Theuner (Adams 2006, p. 61). Robinson remained in this job for the next seventeen years until he was elected bishop (Adams 2006, p. 59).

Robinson and his daughters are very close (Adams 2006, p. 71). Ella activley helped her father with public relations at the General Convention in 2003 (Adams 2006, p. 140). Just a week before the General Convention, Robinson had been with his daughter Jamee and held his four hour old first grand-daughter (Adams 2006, p. 144).

Election as bishop

The Anglican Communion does not have a uniform method of choosing bishops nor administatively structuring the Church. The Episcopal Church is perhaps the most democratic branch of the Anglican Communion and reflects the American church's "unease with lords and bishops" after the revolution (Adams 2006, p. 86). A dioceses is the primary unit of The Episcopal Church with the sub-units called parishes. Each parish has a priest and an elected group of lay leaders called the 'vestry'. The diocese operate under the elected leadership of a bishop and a governing board called the 'Standing Committee' - made up of three lay and three clergy leaders - elected by parish delegates at an annual Diocesan Convention (Adams 2006, p. 85). The Standing Committee acts as a check-and-balance to the bishop and can become the ecclesiastical authority if a bishop should die in office or become incapacitated (Adams 2006, p. 85). Every three years, the diocese elects delegates, both lay and clergy, and sends them to The Episcopal Church's General Convention (Adams 2006, p. 86).

The election in New Hampshire - like all elections of bishops in The Episcopal Churh - would be democratic (Adams 2006, p. 86). Unlike most parts of the Anglican Communion where bishops are appointed, The Episcopal Church is a representative democracy (Adams 2006, p. 86). This detail would be misunderstood when the international commentary following Robinson's election suggested he should voluntarily step down or be asked to do so (Adams 2006, p. 93). The Jeffrey John case in the Church of England is the best example to contrast the election of bishops with the appointment of bishops (Adams 2006, p. 130). Jeffrey John is an openly gay priest living in a long-standing celibate (yes, he self-identifies as celibate) relationship and was appointed as a bishop (Adams 2006, p. 130). One person, the bishop of Oxford, had the authority to make Jeffrey John the new bishop suffragan of Reading (Adams 2006, p. 130). The Archbishop of Canterbury - himself appointed by one person on the authority of another person - trumped the appointment and pressurized Jeffrey John to step down (Adams 2006, p. 130). There was no involvement of the laity nor a wider consensus among the clergy (Adams 2006, p. 130). This precedent would be used by the wider Anglican Communion to pressurise Robinson (Adams 2006, p. 130). But as Robinson says himself, "there was not a single bishop involved in the choosing of me to be bishop of New Hampshire (Adams 2006, p. 130)."

The Standing Committee began in the fall of 2001 the process of holding a search and election for a new bishop to replace the soon to be retired Bishop Theuner (Adams 2006, p. 583). The Standing Committee divided there effort in to two separate committees: the Search and Nominating, and the Election and Transition (Adams 2006, p. 86). The search committee would find and nominated five possible candidates. One candidate dropped out when he was elected bishop of Nevada (Adams 2006, p. 90). The remaining four contenders included Gene Robinson (Adams 2006, p. 90).

The Search and Nominating Committee retired and the Election an Transition Committee of the New Hampshire diocese began planning for the election and eventual consecration (Adams 2006, p. 91). The Election and Transition Committee insured all the parishioners in the diocese would have a change to meet, hear, question and talk to all four candidates (Adams 2006, p. 94).

Robinson was elected bishop by the New Hampshire diocese on June 7 2003 at St. Paul's Church in Concord, New Hampshire (Adams 2006, p. 98). Thirty-nine clergy votes and 83 lay votes was the threshold necessary to elect a bishop in the Diocese of New Hampshire at that time (Adams 2006, p. 98). The clergy voted 58 votes for Robinson and the laity voted 96 for Robinson on the second ballot (Adams 2006, p. 98).

The Episcopal Church requires in its Canon 16 that the election procedure and the candidate who is elected be subjected to review and must be consented to by the national church (Adams 2006, p. 108). No one raised any objections to the procedure of the election (Adams 2006, p. 108). If diocesan election occurred within 120 days (3 months) of a General Convention, canon law requires consent by the House of Deputies and then the House of Bishops at the General Convention itself (Adams 2006, p. 108).

When the New Hampshire Standing Committee forward Robinson's name for consent, it had to state that to the best of their knowledge that the bishop-elect has been "duly and lawfully elected" and that there is no impediment to his ordination and that Robinson is (Adams 2006, p. 109),

“

of such sufficiency in learning, of such soundness in the Faith, and of such godly character as to be able to exercise the Office of a Bishop to the honor of God and the edifying of the Church, and to be a wholesome example to the flock of Christ.

”

Thus, no canon law prohibited a homosexual from ordination, so was Robinson of "godly character" and "a wholesome example" to be elected bishop?(Adams 2006, p. 109).

Consent to the election of Robinson was given in August at the 2003 General Convention. The General Convention of 2003 became the center for debate over Robinson's election, as conservatives and liberals within the Church argued over whether Robinson should be allowed to become bishop. Some conservative elements threatened a schism within both the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion should Robinson be elected.

Before the House of Deputies can vote on a resolution, a legislative committee must examine the piece of legislation first (Adams 2006, p. 133). The Committee on the Consecration of Bishops held a two-hour hearing on Robinson's election and supporters and opponents were allowed to speak (Adams 2006, p. 133). One of the speakers was Robinson's daughter Ella who read a letter from his ex-wife Boo in strong support of Robinson (Adams 2006, p. 133-134). The House of Deputies, which consists of laypersons and priests, would vote in the affirmative: the laity voted 63 in favor, 32 opposed, and 13 divided; the clergy voted 65 in favor, 31 opposed, and 12 divided (Adams 2006, p. 135).

The next morning a crisis had occurred. Two alleged scandals had been exposed over night (Adams 2006, p. 136-143). After a two day investigation, neither allegation proved of merit (Adams 2006, p. 143). The House of Bishops would vote in the affirmative, with 62 in favor, 43 opposed, and 2 abstaining (Adams 2006, p. 143).

Allegations of impropriety

Robinson won the first two of three votes required for his election to be ratified, but allegations suddenly arose on August 4 to the effect that he had "inappropriately touched" an adult male Vermont parishioner on two occasions at a New England area conference, and also had connections with outright.org, which at the time carried a link to allthingsbi.com, a resource site for bisexual people that included links to pornography sites. The final vote was postponed to address these last minute charges.

David W. Virtue, a critic of gay ordination, brought up the pornography allegation, claiming that: "Gene Robinson’s website is linked by one click to 5,000 pornographic websites."^[5] When no such link was found on the Diocese of New Hampshire web page profiling the bishop-elect, Virtue stated that the link was on the website of an organization Robinson supported. Robinson was already known to be associated with Outright, a secular organization for the support of young homosexual people. Fred Barnes, a Fox News commentator, repeated the allegations on the website of The Weekly Standard.^[6] On the day the allegations arose, the website issued a press release [1] stating that it had removed the offending link, that it had been unaware of the pornographic links on allthingsbi.com, and that Robinson had no involvement with that particular chapter of Outright.

David Lewis, of Manchester, Vermont, the man who had alleged the "touching", was then reported to have said, during the investigating committee's telephone call with him, that the acts in question were two separate occasions of what felt to him like intentionally seductive arm-squeezing and back-stroking, although in a public setting. Lewis acknowledged that others might have regarded the two incidents as "natural", yet the incidents were disturbing to him nonetheless. The investigating committee's report also stated that Lewis regretted having used the word "harassment" in his e-mail, and that Lewis declined an invitation to bring formal charges. No journalist ever contacted Lewis for confirmation of any details of the investigating committee's report.

Ordination as bishop

The Elections and Transitions Committee arranged for the Whittemore Center to be used for the consecraton with its 6 000 seats (Adams 2006, p. 170). The Whittemore Centre is a large hockey rink on the campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham (Adams 2006, p. 170). The numbers expected were about 3 000 people, 300 press, a 200 strong choir, and 48 bishops (Adams 2006, p. 175). The security was strong: just as Barbara Harris had to wear a bullet-proof vest at her consecration, Gene Robinson was showing his bullet-proof vest to Harris herself (Adams 2006, p. 188). Robinson's parents, sister, daughter and their families and his ex-wife Boo were all at the consecration (Adams 2006, p. 195). Robinson was consecrated on November 2, 2003 in the presence of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and six co-conscecrating bishops: 48 bishops in all (Adams 2006, p. 199). The six co-conscecrating bishops who examined Robinson were 1) the retired twenty-fourth Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Rt Rev Edmond Browning, 2) the retired bishop of Arkansas, the Rt Rev Herbert Donovan,Jr, 3) the retired bishop of Maryland, the Rt Rev Thomas Eastman, 4) the retired bishop suffragan of Massachusetts, the Rt Rev Barbara Harris, 5) the bishop of Maine and president of Province I, the Rt Rev Chilton Knudsen, and 6) the bishop emeritus of Stockholm in the Lutheran Church of Sweden, the Rt Rev Krister Stendhal (Adams 2006, p. 199-200).

Precedents regarding homosexuality

In October 1974, Louie Crew formed the first chapter of Integrity in the U.S. in the diocese of Chicago (Adams 2006, p. 49). At the 1976 General Convention, a resolution stating "homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other person upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church (Adams 2006, p. 49)."

The ordination of women was approved at the same 1976 General Convention (Adams 2006, p. 49).)

The first openly non-celibate homosexual to be ordained a priest was a women; Rev Ellen Barrett was ordained in January 1977 (Adams 2006, p. 49). The ordination was denounced by some as "a travesty and a scandal" and a bishop would write that "you cannot imagine the tremendous harm it will do to the rest of the church (Adams 2006, p. 50)." Rev Barrett responded later that month (January 1977) saying, "If the church is to be a house of prayer for all people, then gay people belong in it too (Adams 2006, p. 50)."

The House of Bishops met in Florida in 1977 and they passed a resolution condemning homosexuality as unbiblical but they did not censure the ordinatio of Barrett (Adams 2006, p. 51).

At the 1979 General Convention in Denver, a resolution was passed stating (Adams 2006, p. 52),

“

We reaffiem the traditional teaching of the Church on marriage, marital fidelity, and sexual chastity as the standard of Christian sexual morality. Candidates for ordination are expected to conform to this standard. Therefore, we believe it is not appropriate for this Church to ordain a practicing homosexual, or any person who is engaged in heterosexual relations outside od marriage.

”

Fallout

Robinson has said he is " deeply aware of the confusion and anger and difficulty [his election] was causing, but ...optimistic that the Anglican Communion would hold together (Adams 2006, p. 164)." Robinson has said (Adams 2006, p. 164),

“

first of all, some of us are already in 'impaired communion', where some of us who have been ordained here are not recognized as legitimate priests in other parts of the Anglican Communion. If, as some of the archbishops say, I will not be recognized in their provinces as a bishop, I just joined all the ordained women in this church who are not recognized by most of the Anglican Communion. Now I don't like that one bit, that they are not recognized, but you know what? The Communion didn't come apart over that, and it need not come apart over this either.

”

Robinson's appointment prompted a group of 19 bishops, led by Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, to make a statement warning the church of a possible schism between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, stated that "[it] will inevitably have a significant impact on the Anglican Communion throughout the world and it is too early to say what the result of that will be." He added: "[I]t is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response."^[7] Retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated that he did not see what "all the fuss" was about, saying the election would not roil the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. Other senior bishops of the church, like Peter Akinola, Archbishop of the Church of Nigeria and head of the Global South, have stated that their churches are in an "impaired communion"^{[citation needed]} with the Episcopal Church.

In the U.S., Anglican and Episcopal churches that have disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church form the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a Nigerian Anglican body formed in response to Robinson's ratification as bishop.

Treatment for alcoholism

On February 14 2006, it was reported that Robinson was being treated at an inpatient rehabilitation facility, after arriving at said facility February 1 2006, in order to combat his "increasing dependence on alcohol". Robinson wrote to his community in an email, explaining that he voluntarily sought the help he needed: "I am writing to you from an alcohol treatment center where, with the encouragement and support of my partner, daughters and colleagues, I checked myself in to deal with my increasing dependence on alcohol." He added that he had been dealing with alcoholism for years "as a failure of will or discipline on my part, rather than a disease over which my particular body simply has no control, except to stop drinking altogether".

Diocesan officials were surprised by the news and asserted that they did not notice his alcoholism affect his ministry in any way. The Episcopal Church, through its General Convention, has long recognized alcoholism as a treatable human disease, not a failure of character or will. The members of the Standing Committee issued a statement fully supporting "our bishop and his family as he confronts the effects of alcohol on his life, and we commend him for his courageous example to us all, as we pray daily for him and for his ministry among us".^[8] He returned to work on March 8 2006.^[9]

Limelight

Gene Robinson's life, and the significance of his election to people both inside and outside the Episcopal/Anglican church, are the subjects of a 2006 biography, "Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson", by Elizabeth Adams (Adams 2006).

Robinson was featured prominently in a documentary film entitled For the Bible Tells Me So, which screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.^[10]

References

Adams, Elizabeth (2006), Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson, Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press, ISBN 1933368225

See also

• Gay bishops
• Homosexuality and Anglicanism
• Homosexuality and Christianity

Further reading

Chronological order of publication (oldest first)

• Hein, David; Gardiner H. Shattuck, Jr. (2004). The Episcopalians. New York: Church Publishing. ISBN 0898694973. 

• Adams, Elizabeth (2006). Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson. Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press. ISBN 1933368225. 

External links

• Biography of Bishop Robinson at Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire website
• Current and archived messages from Bishop Robinson
• CNN 08/06/03 "Episcopalians Approve Gay Bishop"
• CNN 10/21/03 article from before Robinson consecration
• The Guardian 10/21/03 "Profile: Gene Robinson"
• Video: Interview with Gene Robinson and Daniel Kerslake (director of For The Bible Tells Me So) at Sundance 2007
• Online radio interview with Gene Robinson and Donald Armstrong, March 2007

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