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In the Eye of the StormExtended InformationFrom the Preface by Desmond Tutu I have been puzzled by a strange fact – that a largely conservative, rural small-town diocese such as New Hampshire should have elected a man in an open, monogamous relationship with another man. It just did not make sense that they would want to run the gauntlet of controversy, opprobrium and turmoil for the sheer heck of it. Having read Bishop Gene Robinson’s manuscript of this book I now know why. They had as one of the candidates at the Diocesan Convention to elect their bishop, a man many had come to know quite well and they had been impressed with what they had seen and experienced of him. He was, he still is, a man with an all consuming passion and that is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, to assure as many as will hear him of their infinite worth in the sight of God who loved them and still loves them with a love that is unconditional and that will not let them go. Gene Robinson has the heart of a pastor, compassionate and deeply caring for each person whatever their condition. He tells so movingly of the Christmas present he gives himself every year since becoming bishop. On Christmas Eve he goes to the State Women’s Prison and he has endeared himself so much to these inmates that they embroidered a set of vestments on the inside of which they stitched their names. This Advent vestment set is his favourite among his ecclesiastical garb. He has given the women prisoners hope (Advent is the liturgical season of hope, of expectancy, of longing for the coming of the Christ as Judge as he came as an infant, a coming we commemorate each Christmas). Poignantly for these women it is a time of expectancy, of hope – hope of parole, of release, of a visit from a loved one. Their Bishop, who came dressed to the ecclesiastical nines in all his consecration regalia when he first visited them – to affirm their significance for him and hopefully for themselves, reflects the character of Christ the Good Shepherd who gave up, who gives up on no one. He has wanted to live out his life as an alter Christus, another Christ, proclaiming the love of a father longing eagerly for the return of his wayward younger son whom he rushes out to embrace when he does return, even before he has confessed his wrongdoing. He has wanted to be where Christ would be – among the down and outs, the lost, the last, the least. It is these attributes that have attracted people. It is these qualities that made the people of the Diocese of New Hampshire elect him thereby provoking a massive ecclesiastical storm. This is the man they knew and this is the man they chose to be their father-in-God. They would not recognize him in the caricatures that make out that he is consumed by one issue and that being this nettle of the acceptance of GLBT persons in the Church as full members free to enjoy all the rights and privileges and benefits that heterosexual members enjoy. But this is not his obsession. He cares about other issues of public concern, such as the Iraqi War, such as the erosion of citizens’ rights in the wake of the deep anxiety and fear that have characterized United States politics. I have met him only once and I was impressed by his demeanour and presence. For someone in the eye of the storm buffeting our beloved Anglican Communion, he is so serene, he is not a wild-eyed belligerent campaigner. I was so surprised at his generosity towards those who have denigrated him and worse. After all he and his partner had to wear bullet proof vests for his consecration. He has received death threats – all of which ought to have made him want to give as much as he had got. No, he is not vengeful. I have been amazed at his magnanimity which reminded me so much of the generosity of spirit that was displayed by many of the victims who came to testify before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We were frequently bowled over by the incredible willingness to forgive of many who had suffered grievously at the hands of perpetrators of gruesome atrocities. Instead of baying for their blood as might have been expected, they chose to walk the path of forgiveness and reconciliation rather than that of retribution and revenge. They did not demonise their adversary. By their act of forgiveness they set themselves free from the bondage of victimhood and they gave the perpetrator the opportunity if he wanted to accept it, of making a new beginning. Gene Robinson, breathtakingly, says of those opposing him who have been vituperative and worse, that they are all, including him, destined for heaven. He has refused to demonise them. After all the calumny heaped on him he might have been forgiven for hoping that his adversaries would end up in the warmer place. Our Lord must smile to have such a splendid representative in an affair that has often been sordid. He is so utterly eirenic and his hermeneutics – his manner of understanding the scriptures as being time bound and thus conditioned by cultural language, beliefs contemporary knowledge, etc. is so reasonable and persuasive. For me, the question of human sexuality is really a matter of justice; of course I would be willing to show that my beliefs are not inconsistent with how we have come to understand the scriptures. It is not enough to say the "Bible says ….. ", for the Bible says many things that I find totally unacceptable and indeed abhorrent. I accept the authority of the Bible as the Word of God but I remember that the Bible has been used to justify racism, slavery and the humiliation of women, etc. Apartheid was supported by the white Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa which claimed that there was biblical sanction for that vicious system. Many of us were engaged in the anti-apartheid struggle. Apartheid, crassly racist, sought to penalise people for something about which they could do nothing – their ethnicity, their skin colour. Most of the world agreed that was unacceptable, that it was unjust. I joined the many who campaigned against an injustice that the Church tolerated in its ranks when women were not allowed to be ordained. They were being penalised for something about which they could do nothing, their gender. Mercifully that is no longer the case in our Province of the Anglican Communion and how enriched we have been by this move. I could not stand by whilst people were being penalised again for something about which they could do nothing – their sexual orientation. I am humbled and honoured to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who seek to end this egregious wrong inflicted on God’s children. May I wholly inadequately apologise to my sisters and brothers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered for the cruelty and injustice that you have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of us, your fellow Anglicans, I am sorry. Forgive us for all the pain we have caused you and which we continue to inflict on you. Gene Robinson is a wonderful human being and I am proud to belong to the same Church as he. Desmond Tutu Normal Price: £12.99 ** Special Sale Price: £2.25 ISBN: 9781853119026
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