Local parish opposes Episcopal Church's stance on gays

Alan Reed

The Dickinson Press - 04/06/2008

DICKINSON - Though small in number, the officers and most of the 44 active
baptized members of Dickinson's St. John's Episcopal Church are speaking
loudly in opposition to their bishop's decision to not license a partnered
gay priest in Grand Forks.

The Rev. Bruce MacDuffie said their position is not to champion the cause of
the Rev. Gayle Baldwin, 62, an associate professor of religion at the
University of North Dakota. Instead, the Dickinson parish opposes Bishop
Michael Smith's general position on not licensing partnered gay and lesbian
people.

"We can't presume to be the personnel judges of the individual, but the
bishop doesn't cite personnel reasons as the reason for not licensing,"
MacDuffie said. "But rather states plainly that he will not license gay and
lesbian folks who are in faithful and committed relationships."

Baldwin's situation was shared by the Associated Press on March 22, and
members of St. John's felt a need to affirm their stance as supportive of
the ministry of all baptized people, regardless of ethnicity, race, politics
or sexual orientation.

Read the rest at
http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/articles/index.cfm?id=14829.