Protesters form new church

2003-11-02 12:36

Concord, New Hampshire - Spurred by their opposition to the consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, about 30 people met to form a new congregation separate from the Episcopal Church.

"There is a liberalisation move in the Episcopal Church that finally pushed me beyond my willingness to accept it," Jarvis Coffin, 73, said on Saturday.

"I believe that sodomy is sodomy, and it has never been condoned by any (religious) group that I'm aware of," he said.

Coffin and his wife joined the Anglican Church in America in August, after the Reverend V Gene Robinson's election as bishop of New Hampshire was approved by the national Episcopal Church, the US branch of the global Anglican Communion.

"It was like coming home," Coffin said.

The Anglican Church in America uses the old Book of Common Prayer and rejects the ordination of women and same-sex relationships. It is not part of the Episcopal Church.

Conservatives in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion have threatened a split over Robinson's election and the practice in some dioceses of blessing same-sex unions.

But Robinson has said he feels called by God to become bishop and that he hopes he can pave the way for fuller acceptance of gays and lesbians by the church.

His consecration is set for Sunday at the University of New Hampshire. He will assume his duties in January, when the current bishop retires.

The Reverend Dean Steward, who officiated at Saturday's service and also leads traditional Anglican congregations in Amherst and Holderness, said that according to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin.

Steward, who went to seminary with Robinson and thinks him "a nice fellow", said everyone is a sinner and faces temptation.

But sinners are supposed to repent, not say that "certain things are no longer sins", he said.

"If Robinson repented of his sins and started preaching orthodoxy, I'd have no problem with him being a bishop," he said.

Coffin was less forgiving of Robinson, whom he called "arrogant" for aspiring to be bishop, despite being divorced and openly gay.

"He must know the schism it's going to cause," Coffin said.

After the 16:00 service, the mostly elderly congregants agreed to form All Saints Church and continue worshipping together on Saturdays at the Concordia Lutheran Church, for the time being.

- AP