Christianity,  Politics

Gay Bishop To Pray at Inaugural Event

President-elect Barack Obama got a lot of flak from his base when he tapped Rick Warren to pray at the presidential swearing-in ceremony. Warren was unpopular with some of the left-wing because of his support for California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Today, Mike Allen reports on Politico.com about another person who has been invited to pray:

‘The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who was elected the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop in 2003, will deliver the invocation for Sunday’s kickoff inaugural event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said.

‘President-elect Obama is scheduled to attend the afternoon event, which is free and open to the public.

‘”The president-elect has respect for the Rt. Rev. Robinson, who offered his advice and counsel over the past couple of years,” an inaugural official said. “It also has the benefit of further reinforcing our commitment to an open and inclusive inaugural.”‘

Read the rest of the story here.

5 Comments

  • Don Johnson

    Yes, there are liberals in the church and liberal churches that would ordain practising homosexuals. And yes those churches also ordain women; their goal seems to be inclusiveness and love.

    Slippery slopes exist for both sides of the egal/comp debate. So either discuss both or ignore both. I mostly ignore both.

  • J. Swanson

    Oh my goodness…

    In re: to the discussion…so Rick Warren is not involved now at all? Sad. Evangelicals, which I consider myself to be, could have had a voice, or at least a presence in this administration to some degree.

    RE: the ‘elephant in the room’….I know conservative churches that ordain women. It is NOT just liberal denominations that ordain women. Good grief.

    I respect Denny and have known him for a very long time and enjoy what he has to say. (comments are another story.) And while Denny and I don’t agree on the comp./egal. debate, I keep coming back here, reading the entries and learning a lot. But I still remain a conservative girl (daugther of an ordained Southern Baptist Pastor, who totally supports me), called by God to do his will, seeking ordination along with my husband. We are church planters for the Free Methodist Churches of America and while they ordain women, they do not (and would not) ordain homosexuals nor condone homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle (neither is having an affair on your spouse, if you are heterosexual.)

    Do I believe that homosexuality is a sin? Yep. Do I think practicing homosexuals should be ordained? Nope.

    Do I equate my calling to ministry and being ordained in the same camp (meaning the egal/comp debate is in the same camp as homosexuals being ordained)? Not at all.

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