wfn.org | [ENS] Chaplain resigns after column supporting Robinson's election

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

10/29/2003

Chaplain resigns after column supporting Robinson's election

by Jan Nunley

[Episcopal News Service] An Episcopal chaplain who wrote a column for a
Georgia private school's newspaper supporting the election of Canon Gene
Robinson, an openly gay man in a committed relationship, as bishop coadjutor
of New Hampshire has resigned under pressure from the school's
administration.

The Rev. John Merchant was chaplain of Darlington School, a
non-denominational private Christian preparatory school in Rome, Georgia. He
took the position this summer and resigned effective October 10.

Merchant's column was one of five articles about homosexuality written at
the request of an editor of the school's publication, The Darlingtonian. In
the column, published in early September, Merchant said that spirituality
matters more to God than sexual orientation and that the Bible should not
always be interpreted literally.

The column sparked protests from some parents, who threatened to withdraw
financial support. School president David Hicks and headmaster David Rhodes
asked Merchant to set up meetings to apologize to those upset with the
article. "Specifically, we want you to initiate between 50 and 75 one-on-one
meetings over the next 30 days," Rhodes and Hicks said in a September 30
letter to Merchant. "These meetings will be with those who have expressed
dissent with your views, concern over your chaplaincy, or the intention to
withdraw their children or support from the school."

But Merchant refused, calling the request "morally and academically
intolerable."

"After much deliberation and discussion, Father Merchant informed the
president of Darlington School that the situation had become too stressful
for him to perform his ministry here, and he tendered his resignation,"
school president David V. Hicks said in a statement. "We have, with sadness,
accepted that resignation. We believe this decision is what's best for the
entire Darlington School community."

Faculty newspaper adviser Karen Rieley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
that the controversy caught her by surprise. "If you're asking did I know it
would upset people, no I didn't," she said.

Merchant told the newspaper he was stunned by the administration's reaction.
"I felt like I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar," he said.
"They said I had caused a terrible situation for Darlington and it was up to
me to get them out of it. I was speechless." A history teacher, Merchant
noted, "I had spent the first weeks in class teaching religious tolerance,
dealing with the settlement of the Colonies."

The controversy spilled over into the surrounding community. Rome
News-Tribune editor John Druckenmiller criticized the school's actions in a
column titled "A Failing Grade in Freedom of Speech 101."

Hicks announced Merchant's resignation to students and faculty members at an
assembly held October 10 and in a letter to parents. "We have never
questioned Father Merchant's right to his own opinions," the letter said.
"However, after much discussion, Father Merchant informed me that, given the
situation in our community, he felt he could not perform his ministry here.
Father Merchant is a good man. We wish him only the best as he continues his
Christian ministry."-- The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of Episcopal
News Service. Chris Marr of the Rome News-Tribune, Norman Arey of the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Associated Press contributed to this
report.