Gay Bishop Set to Lead Episcopal Diocese

More than six months after his confirmation rocked the Episcopal Church, openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson is poised to take control of the New Hampshire diocese Sunday.

Robinson assumes full leadership in a ceremony known as investiture – a ceremonial passage of leadership from departing Bishop Douglas Theuner.

“It’s a family time for the diocese. It’s a time to give thanks and a time to welcome Gene to his new role,” said the Rev. Hays Junkin, who will open the sanctuary door at St. Paul’s Church when Robinson knocks at the start of the service.

Once Robinson knocks and is admitted to the worshipping community, Theuner will pass his shepherd’s crook, called a crozier, to Robinson as a symbol of the transition.

Investiture does not carry the weight that Robinson’s consecration did in November, an event that drew protesters and triggered angry responses from many corners of the world.

The two men have shared leadership of the diocese since November. Theuner officially retires Sunday.

Robinson is the first openly gay man to be elected as a bishop, both in the national Episcopal church and the worldwide Anglican Communion of which it is a part.

Several Anglican bishops abroad have said they will no longer associate with the Episcopal Church USA because it approved Robinson’s election.

In the United States, a dozen conservative bishops are organizing an alternative network of dioceses and parishes that object to Robinson’s selection. They argue that homosexuality violates biblical laws.

Robinson has lived with his partner, Mark Andrew, a state administrator, for 15 years and has two daughters from a previous marriage. In an interview with The Associated Press, Robinson said he’d marry his same-sex partner “in a minute” if he had the chance.

“Let’s be clear,” Robinson told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview scheduled to air Sunday night. “We’ve always had gay bishops. All I’m doing is being honest about it.”

Robinson was elected by a vote of Episcopal clergy and laymen in New Hampshire in June. While the majority of Episcopalians in the state enthusiastically support Robinson, a conservative minority continues to oppose his consecration.

Two churches in the diocese, Church of the Redeemer in Rochester and St. Mark’s in Ashland have voted to affiliate with the new network of conservative churches.

Robinson said he hopes to work with them.

“Here in the diocese we are continuing to reach out in every way possible to individuals for whom this is still a troubling thing,” he said.