Disrespect in the House of God

The Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson spoke at my church yesterday and members of the Religious Right felt it appropriate to heckle him during his sermon. One stood up in the middle of the service and said "Sodomy is a sin and you are a sinner"

Gene Robinson is the first OPENLY gay Bishop in the Episcopal Church and his selection caused a great deal of controversy within the church as a whole. Several parishes and a couple dioceses split from the church but I am proud to say my parish, St. Martin's, stood firm in our support of all of God's children and their rights.

I have no problem with people protesting outside on public property but to interrupt a service where you have been invited as a guest is disrespectful and just wrong. Bishop Robinson handled the disruption with grace and forgiveness, it is not like he hasn’t heard it before but he shouldn’t have to deal with crap like that.

When loudly confronted during his sermon by one of the demonstrators that "Sodomy is a sin," the bishop responded that the homosexual prohibitions cited in the Bible are words from another era, not the timeless message of love for all that permeates so much of later Scripture.

read more: Charlotte Observer