Why is +Gene's Snub So Important?

Lee Clark is director of the Church Records Company and the spouse of The Rev. Diana Clark, lead clergy deputy from the Diocese of Newark, past president of the Newark Standing Committee.

He wrote this to the Newark e-mail list, (used with permission):

I have been reading the exchange between you [Giles Fraser of Inclusive Church] and Louie [Crew, of Newark] over the last 24 hours and feel compelled to respond to your observation regarding the way those of us in the United States approach matters such as the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church. There are times when seeing the glass as being half full is the healthy way to look at things. The dispute over Bishop Robinson’s invitation to Lambeth is not one of them.

In the matter of standing with Gene, and all our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, I am reminded of the integration the professional baseball in the United States in the middle of the last century. In the beginning there were many who wanted to kill the process, both fans and players, but a few stood up and supported the man chosen to cross the color barrier, Jackie Robinson. He was their teammate and was entitled to full inclusion in their world. They said that if he could not sleep in all white hotels, they would not. If he could not eat at all white restaurants, they would not. While, for many, the integration of baseball was not a popular move, it was clearly the right thing to do. That was not a glass half-full moment.

I am also reminded of the story of Adelaide Case, the first women chosen to serve as a full professor in an Anglican seminary. It was at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge Massachusetts in the early 1940’s. There was a protest by some students who insisted that the moment she walked into their class they would walk out. The president of the seminary responded that of course, they could do so if they wanted to; that was their right. But he went on to say that if they chose to walk out of class, they should continue walking out the front gate of the seminary. She stayed and at the time of her death less than ten years later, was one of the seminary’s most popular and respected professors.

There are times when courageous and decisive action is called for. Like the breaking of the color barrier in sports and the gender barrier in Anglican seminaries, this is one of them. This is not a time to view the glass as half full. The disrespect shown is not to Gene alone, it is to all gay and lesbian Christians and to the entire Episcopal Church. If Bishop Robinson is not given a full invitation to Lambeth, I for one, will be disappointed if any of our other bishops attend. This is not a “glass half full” moment in the history of our communion. I pray our Archbishop finds the courage to do the right thing.

Lee Clark

I particularly appreciate his historical comparisons to breaking the color and gender lines.

RFSJ