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Scotland leads on tolerance – will the Church of England follow?

The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow, explains why he invited Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, to celebrate communion at the Cathedral this Sunday.

No-one really gets excommunicated from the Anglican Communion for being naughty or indeed for being gay. You just don't get an invitation to sup with the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Lambeth Conference; no garden party with the Queen.

Bishop Robinson has also been refused permission by the Archbishop to celebrate the Eucharist while he is in England. However, the Archbishop of Canterbury has no jurisdiction here in Scotland. When it became apparent Bishop Robinson was inhibited from celebrating communion in England, it was inevitable he would be invited by someone to do so in Scotland. That someone was me. Tomorrow, Bishop Robinson will celebrate communion and preach in St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow.

I invited Bishop Robinson to spread good news. Not just the Good News of the Gospel, which inspires all preachers, but the good news that churches are changing. At one time, gay people were expected to pretend they were not doing anything with anyone in order to be acceptable on Sunday. Those days are gone, at least for some of us.

They are certainly gone in the Scottish Episcopal Church, which has many serving gay clergy and in whose churches clergy may offer, if they so choose, prayers of blessing for gay couples.

The character of the Scottish Episcopal Church is more pragmatic than the Church of England. No-one seriously believes there are no gay clergy in the Church of England; their presence has been the subject of snide innuendo for decades. However, their presence has also been witness to the kind of faith often prepared to go places others find most difficult.

Full story at The Scotsman.