Requiescat in Pace: The Rt. Rev. Marvil Thomas Shaw III, SSJE

Integrity joins the church in mourning the death of the Right Rev. Marvil Thomas "Tom" Shaw III SSJE, recently retired bishop of Massachusetts.

Born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1945, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1971 and joined the Society of St. John the Evangelist, an Anglican religious order for clergy and laity, in 1975. He served a term as its leader beginning in 1983.  He was consecrated a bishop in 1994 and assumed the diocesan seat the following year.

Bishop Shaw Visiting St. Paul's: Newburyport in January
PHOTO CREDIT: Ollie Jones (flickr.com/joebackward)
Used by Creative Commons License.  Some rights reserved

Bishop Shaw's advocacy for the LGBT community is significant.  He came out in 2012 and described his experience as a gay, celibate monk at the 2008 Lambeth Conference (a worldwide gathering of Anglican bishops that was fraught with controversy over the consecration of the Right Rev. Gene Robinson) in the documentary Love Free or Die.

The Rt. Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool, Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles, met Shaw over thirty years ago while a student at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge. "He committed himself when he became bishop, that he would make it a priority for LGBT families to feel safe, loved and included before his retirement."

"When I first came into the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts right out of college in 1995, Bishop Shaw was near the beginning of his episcopate. As I got to know this diocese, I was struck by the tone he set-- one of prayer, commitment, public advocacy and proclamation, innovation, discipline. LGBTQ people should remember his early, strong support for HIV/AIDS ministries, of openly gay and lesbian ecclesial leadership, and of marriage equality here in Massachusetts over two decades ago," said the Rev. Cameron Partridge, Co-Convener of TransEpiscopal and Chaplain at Boston University. "His support of transgender equality and leadership is particularly noteworthy, from his quiet support of my ordination process after I came out in 2001, to his public advocacy for trans non-discrimination legislation in MA and at the 2009 and 2012 General Conventions, to his memorable words of welcome at Boston's Trans Day of Remembrance observances from 2010-2013. All of this was so clearly the fruit of his ongoing conversion, of growth into the heart of God to which he always issued an open invitation. For me, that prayerful engagement of transformation -- including the opening of his own heart-- is +Tom's lasting legacy."

"In 2008 Bishop Shaw confirmed me into the Episcopal Church," said Vivian Taylor, executive director of Integrity USA. "His strong, wise leadership created an environment in the Diocese of Massachusetts where I could come out, where I could transition. He is a great leader and his work will live on both here in Massachusetts and throughout the Episcopal Church."

"Tom was a kind, contemplative man, and willing to learn and grow," added Marie Alford-Harkey, Integrity's Province I (New England) Coordinator, a graduate of Episcopal Divinity School and Deputy Director of the Religious Institute.

Bishop Shaw's advocacy did not start or end on human sexuality.  Bishop Glasspool cited his dedication to reforming the structures that lead to poverty, as well as immigration policy and gun laws. He also campaigned for peace in the Middle East and led numerous pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Africa, and South America, to bring about better understanding of global social issues.  Locally, he founded a middle school and other programs for disadvantaged Boston youth, and -- in 2003 -- helped launch the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, a facility in Greenfield, N.H. that is operated by the Diocese of Massachusetts.

Christian Paolino is the Chair of the Integrity Stakeholders' Council.  This is a revision of the original breaking story.

October LGBT Faith Conference to Feature Gene Robinson

On Saturday, Oct. 11th, the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson, IX Bishop of New Hampshire (ret.) will be part of an all-day conference on spirituality for LGBT people and their allies at All Saints: Worcester, a Believe Out Loud Episcopal Congregation in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

Flag array above the doors to All Saints Church

The day will include a choice of workshops, one of which will be facilitated by Marie Alford-Harkey, Integrity's Province I Coordinator.  Marie is the Deputy Director of the Religious Institute and recently collaborated on a breakthrough guidebook on ministry for and with bisexual people, which will be the topic of her seminar.  Other options are "Coming Out and Coming Home... to the Church" by the Rev. Kathy McAdams and a workshop focusing on forgiveness piloted by the Rev. Mark Seifried.

Lunch will follow the workshops, and then Bishop Robinson will celebrate the Eucharist and preach, joined by the Rt. Rev. Douglas Fisher, Bishop of Western Massachusetts; the Revs. Judith Freeman Clark and Ronald C. Crocker, Interim Co-Rectors of All Saints; and the parish choir.

Advance registration is required, either to participate in the whole day or just the Eucharist.  For details please visit the All Saints Church web site: http://www.allsaintsw.org/content.cfm?id=341. This annual event is popular and is likely to "sell out".

This event is co-sponsored by the LGBT Alliance of All Saints Church, St. John's: Sutton, and Integrity.  We are proud of and grateful for the work of Diocesan Organizer Rich Markiewicz and his organizing team.

This will be the second cooperative effort between Integrity and the Alliance this year.  This spring, we co-hosted a Believe Out Loud Congregational Workshop at All Saints, which was highlighted in the newest edition of Abundant Times, the diocesan magazine.  Click here and scroll to page 20 to read a recap of the workshop by Diocesan Communications Director Vicky Ix.

Alan Gates Elected as Next Bishop of Massachusetts

On the fourth ballot, the Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts elected the Rev. Alan M. Gates as its 16th bishop.  Pending the consent of the House of Bishops, Gates will succeed the Right Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, when he retires later this year.

The Rev. Alan M. Gates

PHOTO CREDIT:
Diocese of Massachusetts

Gates is currently the Rector of St. Paul's: Cleveland Heights in the Diocese of Ohio, where he also served as Chair of the Commission on Ministry and the Standing Committee.  He worked previously in the Diocese at St. John the Evangelist: Hingham, as well as in Western Massachusetts and Chicago.  He attended Middlebury College and the Episcopal Divinity School, and is married with two grown sons.

"I am thrilled to welcome Alan Gates back to Boston," said Integrity's Executive Director, Vivian Taylor.  "He has been wonderfully supportive of Integrity's work in Ohio, and we are thrilled to have our new national office a few train stops from the Cathedral where he will be serving as Bishop."

The Diocese of Massachusetts, which includes the nine counties of the Commonwealth east and southeast of Worcester and has 77,000 members, is one of the oldest in the church.

Bishop Shaw has been a strong advocate for our work, and has been struggling with illness in recent days. Integrity asks its members to continue to pray for his recovery and comfort.  We look forward to deepening our relationship with Bishop-Elect Gates in the days ahead.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like... St. Aelred's Day!

Whether you are prone to embrace the hushed expectation of Advent or fill your month with shopping, caroling and decking-of-halls, the Integrity Stakeholders' Council would like to remind you that our patronal feast, St. Aelred's Day, is coming up in just about five weeks' time on January 12th.

Born in 1110 in Hexham, Northumbria, England, Aelred attended school in Scotland and subsequently became the household manager of the Scottish King, David I.  Unsatisfied with this life, he entered the monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire, and subsequently became its abbot.

Window depicting the Abbey at Rievaulx,
by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.
Used under Creative Commons License

Aelred published several books, the most popular of which, De spiritali amicitia (Spiritual Friendship) written between 1164-1167 is what drew Integrity to him.  As abbot, Aelred disagreed with the idea that monastics should artificially have the same level of companionship with everyone in the community, arguing instead that people are naturally drawn to those with whom they are most compatible.

Integrity chapters, Proud Parish Partners and anyone who wishes to give thanks for the work of LGBT inclusion in the church are encouraged to observe his feast day with celebration and prayer.  Last year, the Connecticut Chapter developed a series of resources for the observance, including an anthem with words by our founder, Dr. Louie Crew, and music by Bert Landman.

The St. Aelred resources are the first of a planned year-round cycle of liturgies and other programming to be published on our web site.  The Stakeholders are looking for chapters, congregations and individuals interested in contributing or developing materials for the calendar.  Please consider sharing with us service leaflets, prayers of the people or other resources that others could utilize to further our communal life in the spirit.

Christian Paolino is Chair of the Integrity Stakeholders' Council

Eyebrows, Up! EDS Courts African Bishop Spurned by Dartmouth

In July of this year, the Rt. Rev. James Tengatenga, Anglican Bishop of Southern Malawi, was offered an appointment as Dean of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College. A month later, the offer was rescinded. On November 15, Episcopal Divinity School, with the support of the Episcopal Dioceses of Connecticut and Massachusetts, announced that Bishop Tengatenga had been offered a six-month presidential fellowship. It’s enough to give LGBTQ activists whiplash, since the withdrawal of Dartmouth’s offer was due to protests by campus LGBTQ activists, and Episcopal Divinity School is the most progressive, pro-LGBTQ seminary of the Episcopal Church.

On August 15, the Boston Globe reported on the rescinding of the offer from Dartmouth:

"His [Bishop Tengatenga’s] appointment had sparked a campus controversy as word spread that he had sharply criticized the election of the Right Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, and that he had asserted in 2011 that the Anglican dioceses in Malawi remained 'totally against homosexuality.'" 

These two statements are technically true, and are surrounded by some very complicated context.

The withdrawal of the offer to Bishop Tengatenga sparked a letter of support with 14 signatories, including the Most. Rev. Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa; the Right Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut; and the Very Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, President and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School. The letter, which was published in The Living Church, reads, in part:

"The President’s decision brought applause from some in the Dartmouth community. Others were appalled, as are we. The action represents a gross injustice to an individual who would have made an ideal person to provide moral and ethical leadership at the College. It casts serious doubts on what is being learned in American universities when members of those communities fail to distinguish between public positions of institutions and the views of individuals who participate in those institutions. It reflects badly on western human rights advocates who consciously or unconsciously engage in forms of cultural imperialism that undermine their own success and credibility by demanding proofs identical to their own kind and, in this instance, by also ignoring the voices of Africans and church leaders who have known and worked with Tengatenga in some cases for decades."

Andrew Longhi, a junior at Dartmouth, is among those who were not convinced of Bishop Tengatenga’s support of LGBTQ rights. In an article in the Huffington Post, he states, "Tengatenga's appointment is deeply disrespectful to the Dartmouth LGBT community and its allies, who need leaders whom they can trust and learn from."

The withdrawal of Bishop Tengatenga’s appointment as Dean of the Tucker Foundation left the bishop without a job (he had already resigned his episcopate in Southern Malawi) and his public statements in favor of LGBT rights (after his appointment but before the controversy surfaced) left him in a difficult position should he try to return to Malawi.

Episcopal Divinity School stepped into the breach by offering Bishop Tengatenga a six-month Presidential Fellowship. EDS’ press release gives examples of the Bishop’s support of LGBTQ rights in his context:

"Bishop Tengatenga’s long record of support for LGBTQ rights in his native Malawi and across Africa was a decisive factor in inviting him to EDS as a Presidential Fellow. In 2007, Bishop Tengatenga opposed a move by church leaders in Africa to cut ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church because of its support of LGBTQ clergy, and in 2010, together with bishops from Central and Southern Africa, wrote a strong counter-statement to an anti-LGBTQ communique from church leaders at the All-African Anglican Bishops' Conference."

So, what are we to conclude about Bishop Tengatenga’s support for LGBTQ rights? Personally, I am persuaded by the testimony of those who know him; people whom I know personally and whose LGBTQ activist credentials I trust. Thanks to EDS, we will have opportunities to hear more from Bishop Tengatenga himself. I look forward to learning more.

Marie Alford-Harkey is Province I Coordinator of Integrity and Deputy Director of the Religious Institute. She holds a Masters of Divinity from Episcopal Divinity School.

Requiescat in Pace: The Right Rev. Douglas Edwin Theuner

The Integrity board and staff are saddened to share news of the death of the Right Rev. Douglas Edwin Theuner, eighth Bishop of New Hampshire, on November 8th, 2013.  He was 74. Bishop Theuner was receiving hospice care in Concord, N.H., when he died peacefully in his sleep.

Bishop Theuner's death was announced on the diocesan pages of the current bishop, the Right Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld. He recalled for the Concord Monitor a voice mail which Theuner left him shortly after his consecration. "He said, 'Number 10, this is Number 8. I’m not going to give you any advice, but don’t be timid. If there’s one thing I regret from my time as bishop, it was that I was too timid.' Of course, everyone will say the words 'timid' and 'Theuner' don’t belong in the same sentence. He was never afraid. He embodied this kind of fearlessness that can only come when you’ve become soaked in the love of God."  Theuner was instrumental in getting the Episcopal Church and his peers in the African church to face the AIDS crisis.

The Right Rev. Gene Robinson, who came out as a gay man while serving as Theuner's Canon to the Ordinary and succeeded him as Bishop in 2003, told the Monitor, "Doug Theuner is the reason I have a life in ministry. He was one of the boldest defenders of justice I’ve ever known."

Born in New York, Bishop Theuner graduated from Bexley Hall and served congregations in Ohio and Connecticut before being consecrated bishop in 1986.  He continued to work after retirement, despite facing a number of physical ailments.

Despite his passion for his work, he had an irreverent side. "He was always poking fun at the pretentiousness at the church in general, and at the bishops specifically," Robinson told the Monitor. "When people asked what they should call him, he would always say, 'Why don’t you call me Doug, because that’s what God will call me when I go to heaven.'"

God called, and Doug answered.

The Burial Office was read this morning at St. Paul's: Concord, and a requiem Eucharist was held this afternoon at the Church of the Epiphany in Newport.

Bishop Theuner is survived by his wife Jane "Sue"; his two children Elizabeth Susan DiTommaso (Frank), Nicholas Frederick Kipp Theuner and his wife Charlotte Driver; his grandchildren Amy Carmela DiTommaso and her husband Jarrod Manzer, Alexandra Marie and Mariana Teresa DiTommaso, Dakota Jean and Megan Nicole Theuner; and great-granddaughter Ophelia Manzer DiTommaso. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Steve Kimball: This is My Story, This is My Song

This personal narrative came out of the Believe Out Loud Congregational Workshop that Integrity held at Christ Church: Norwich in the Diocese of Connecticut in June, led by Province I Coordinator Marie Alford-Harkey and Neil Houghton.  Effective storytelling is a powerful evangelism tool, and one of the modules of the workshop.

I have had a conscious and personal relationship with God through Jesus since 1975. This relationship has been a life changing experience. Most of the influence of the transformation was from those whom I met during the charismatic movement of the 70’s from various protestant evangelical churches. I was enthusiastic about sharing the love of Jesus and His salvation with anyone I might encounter along the way.

Steve Kimball

There was however, one segment of the population that I didn’t witness to. That was the gay population. I didn’t give it much thought since I had read various passages that seemed to denounce the gay lifestyle. I migrated to Christ Episcopal Church from the Church of the Resurrection. My wife was still at the Church of the Resurrection. She told me about a lesbian couple that had started to attend there. I still didn’t think much about it, since they were at the Church of the Resurrection, and I was at Christ Episcopal Church. After all, wasn’t the gay lifestyle frowned upon by Christianity?

That very night, I had one the most vivid visions of my entire life. Jesus stood at the foot of my bed, and told me that there were two women that he would like me to meet. I didn’t have to ask who, but I did ask “What about scripture?"

Jesus answered, “I know what I authored. You must learn to love as I have taught.”

I knew what I must do. I went to speak to each of the women separately, and then together. I had to be honest with where I was and how Jesus told me to “get with it.” Both women were very gracious and loving. Not only did they teach me what love really is, they showed me what had been missing from my witness for these many years; a total and complete acceptance of ALL people, regardless of their sexual preference, ethnicity, etc. I was now free to love without any hindrance.

Welcome Sign outside Christ Church: Norwich

My desire to share Christ’s love has increased lately. To help me prepare for that sharing, I attended a Believe Out Loud workshop recently. This workshop is designed to aid us in welcoming and incorporating all people into the church community, being specific about including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folk into that incorporation. It was informative, and spiritually nourishing. I now consider myself an evangelical Christian much more prepared to share Christ’s love with ALL people.
 
Steve Kimball is a school bus driver and a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Norwich, CT, where he is a youth advisor and evangelism coordinator.  This article originally appeared in the July edition of the parish newsletter, Thameside Thinking, as does a recap of the Believe Out Loud Congregational Workshop the parish hosted recently.

Cloud of Witnesses: The Rev. Alcide "Al" Barnaby, Founder of Integrity's RI Chapter

On May 19th, the Rev. Alcide Barnaby, Jr., was one of the honorees at the 30th Annual AIDS Candlelight Memorial, held at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Rev. Alcide "Al" Barnaby, Jr.

Rev. Barnaby, who died June 28th, 2012, was the founder of the Rhode Island Chapter of Integrity in 1996 and served as its Convener, among many other gifts to the LGBT community, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and the church.

Among his accomplishments, Rev. Barnaby was the first openly gay and partnered priest in the Diocese of Rhode Island.  He and his partner of 30 years, Daniel Harvey, were married at Trinity Church in Canton, Mass., in 2011. Al, as he was widely known, volunteered at various times with many organizations including the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, Episcopal Relief & Development, St. Mary's Home for Children, AIDS Quilt Rhode Island, among others.

Rev. Barnaby was active in church governance at all levels, serving on Diocesan Council and numerous committees.  He served as a Deputy to General Convention in 2003, an alternate in 2006 and a volunteer in 2009.  He also served as a clergy representative to Province I, the New England dioceses of the Episcopal Church.

"Al, and I were among the few  'out' members of Integrity on the Province 1 Provincial Synod for many years," said Margo McMahon, a Integrity Lifetime Member from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.  "I got to know Al and Dan through various Integrity events and especially through serving as Deputies together at General Convention and hanging out together. I wish you could have had the pleasure of knowing this wonderful person, now walking among the other saints of Integrity in God's Kingdom."

"When I think of Al, so many things come to mind.....He was a pioneer in the Diocese of Rhode Island for inclusivity, challenging the Church to embrace fully the LGBT community," said Kit Tobin, Integrity's Diocesan Organizer - Rochester NY.  "(I remember) the Deans' meeting with Bishop Wolfe in the 90s, when Al stated he would continue to bless same sex couples, and of course he did!"

"My 'memory picture' of Al with a twinkle in his eyes and a broad smile on the platform for the closing blessing at Integrity's General Convention Eucharist," Tobin continued.  "He was a mentor for me when I was 'in process' - always encouraging, the one who was there for me when others seemed to be putting up barriers. A deeply spiritual, loving man with a great sense of humor - always reaching out his hand to any and all who he sensed were in need.  He is sorely missed. I hold him in my heart."

Obituary – The Rev. Alcide Barnaby