wfn.org | Protesters walk out of gay ordinations in Western Michigan

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

February 10, 1998
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
jsolheim@dfms.org

98-2085
Protesters walk out of gay ordinations in Western Michigan

	(ENS) Thirty people protested the ordination of two admitted homosexuals as priests by making a statement and leaving services in the Cathedral of Christ the King in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on January 17.
	"We believe the Standing Committee of the diocese and you have erred in approving these ordinations," Susan Shau of St. Luke's, Kalamazoo, said to Bishop Edward Lee of Western Michigan, who presided at the services. "You are acting contrary to the Holy Scriptures, the church's historic teaching, and the present official position of the Episcopal Church, all of which you have a sacred duty to uphold."
	Bishop Lee responded that all three candidates had been recommended for ordination, having fulfilled all canonical requirements. He acknowledged that the church had not yet come to a consensus on this issue, and that continual dialogue was necessary with all points of view represented and heard.
	Two ordinands, the Rev. Valerie Ambrose and the Rev. Thomas Brown, have acknowledged they live in long-term, faithful same-gender relationships. A third ordinand, the Rev. Nancy Hotra, is in a traditional marriage and was not involved in the protest. Hotra serves a congregation in Battle Creek, Michigan. Ambrose, a long-time active member of the diocese, serves at St. Martin of Tours in Kalamazoo. Brown, who served an internship in Traverse City, has returned to work in San Francisco, where he serves a congregation and directs alumni relations for the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California.
	Brown's ordination as transitional deacon last year prompted the first organized protest against the ordination of homosexual clergy by a group called Clergy and Laity Bearing Witness. 
	Neither the ordinations nor the protest were a surprise to the diocese. Lee has discussed the issues with clergy and during parish visitations. "The liturgy allows for such a statement," Lee said during the service. "I ask the congregation to respect those making the protest and to refrain from any sign either of support or disapproval." He also asked persons on both sides of the issue to respect the "baptismal integrity" of each other.
	Members of the congregation afterwards commended Lee for his calm manner and the way in which he welcomed and supported those who protested the ordinations.

-- Based on a report by the Rev. Joe Neiman, communications minister for the Diocese of Western Michigan.