by Claudia Windal

Created on: August 25, 2008

I am always amazed by this question. I was a Roman Catholic before becoming an Episcopal priest and during my adolescence (when I learned a bit about gay men), I was certain that I correctly identified several priests in our parish as well as nearby parishes. Since this was not discussed openly by anyone, the question was never verbalized and these men went on to serve many parishes well.

Sexual identity has been a concern in the Episcopal for many years. I was honored to serve as the chaplain to the GLBT Episcopal group known as INTEGRITY. Those of us who belonged to Integrity were both lay people and clergy. For some of our ordained members, their association with Integrity was as closeted as they were. These same men, served congregations, headed committees, served as delegates to the General Convention, had positions of trust and influence in their dioceses, but could not say that they were gay or all would be lost for them.

When the Episcopal Church called Gene Robinson to become a bishop, there was chaos, anger, and fear at what an openly gay man might do to the episcopacy. One would believe that he was the first gay man to become a bishop. This is hardly the case and it is disappointing that those who had been bishops for years did not choose to stand with Gene during the controversy regarding electing a gay man to the episcopacy.

As gay and lesbians seeking ordination, our call is like all others; originating from God. We have been prayerful in discerning our call and then, have had to walk lightly through the process leading to ordination. What is the impediment to gay men and lesbians being ordained as priests? If we had preyed on children or on persons of our same sex before announcing our desire to be ordained, we would have been weeded out of the group of candidates immediately (and rightly so). In this era of HIV/AIDS, do congregations still believe this is a disease limited to gay men?

I know more about heterosexuals than most heterosexuals know about gay men and lesbians. What I do know is that we who believe we are called to the priesthood all have personal relationships with God and have heard God call our names and invite us to serve the church as priests. If God continues to call us, why is it so difficult for parishes and dioceses to do the same?

We don't ordain persons because they are great baseball coaches, or based on the automobiles they drive or the music they listen to. We don't reject candidates to priesthood because they have a diabetes or they are unable to drive, or require more time to rest than other priests.

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