Openly gay female bishop to speak at local church
| Friday, Aug 27 2010 09:54 PM
Last Updated Friday, Aug 27 2010 09:54 PM
Bishop Mary Glasspool, speaker
When: 10 a.m. Sunday
Where: Grace Episcopal Church, chapel of First Congregational Church, 5 Real Road (enter via Stockdale Highway entrance)
Information: 431-9020
The Invitation to Communion
(From liturgies used in various Episcopal congregations)
This is the Banquet of the Lamb.
It is made ready for those who love him,
and for those who want to love him more.
So, come, you who have much faith and you have little;
you who have been here often and you who have not been here long,
you who have tried to follow and you who have failed.
Come, because it is the Lord who invites you.
It is his will that those who want him should meet him here.
At a joyous celebratory service in Long Beach three months ago, Mary Glasspool became the first gay, openly partnered woman bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Now the New York native is getting to know the territory.
"I've spent 551/2 of my 56 years on the East Coast," she said in a phone interview. "The geography here is brand-new to me and I'm loving it. I'm traveling all over and I'm trying to learn on a fairly fast curve."
On Sunday, Glasspool will be in town to speak at the 10 a.m. service of Grace Episcopal Church, which meets in the chapel of the First Congregational Church.
Glasspool and Diane Jardine Bruce, were ordained and consecrated as bishops suffragan -- the 17th and 16th, respectively, in the L.A. diocese on May 15 in a three-hour ceremony that was preceded by diverse ethnic groups performing lively songs and dances. The term "suffragan" indicates each woman's responsibility is to assist the diocesan bishop, J. John Bruno, in his duties.
Actually, Grace is part of the San Joaquin Diocese but its vicar, the Rev. Dr. Tim Vivian who attended the Long Beach ceremony, asked Glasspool to visit and she agreed.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of what you all are doing at Grace in order to bring new life to the Diocese of San Joaquin," she said. "And whatever I can do prayerfully to comport you in that mission and ministry I am happy to do it.
"I think the strength right now of the Episcopal Church," she continued, "is to proclaim to the world that we are all God's children and anyone and everyone is welcome."
Grace was formed in 2007 when the three local parishes split from the National Episcopal Church and became Anglican. In the aftermath, John Schofield, the former bishop of the diocese was ousted from his position.
Meanwhile, Jerry Lamb was installed as interim San Joaquin bishop and a number of lawsuits have been filed in an effort to regain church property. Lamb recently recognized a second Bakersfield parish, St. Brigid's, which meets at Emmanuel Lutheran Church.
Reasons for the formerly Episcopal congregations leaving the diocese involve disagreement over their interpretation of the Bible as well as with elements of the national church's policy, such as ordaining women as priests and welcoming parishioners who are gay, lesbian or transgender.
In her travels throughout the northern region of the Los Angeles Diocese, Glasspool said she's met with no negative comments regarding her gender or sexual orientation.
"Absolutely not -- not a piece of it," she said. "I've been warmly welcomed and engaged with and made to feel at home."
Nonetheless, the bishop recognizes not everyone shares those feelings.
"Knowing that there are some of my brothers and sisters -- in some cases clergy -- who may not feel the same way I do, I've tried to reach out to some of the more conservative clergy," she said. "Sometimes it's just sitting down for a chat. I've done that and again been welcomed with open arms."
The diocese, which includes churches in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino, is rich in cultural diversity. Glasspool said this is very much in line with her community-based sense of the church.
"The community here, especially in Los Angeles, is ever so diverse with ethnic people from all over the world," she said. "And that really contributes to a kind of creativity and flexibility that can help in community building."
She sees this as a learning process for herself, as well.
"In the sense of honoring people's differences," the bishop said, "I recognize the more I can learn and engage with people who are different than me the more I will grow as a human being and a child of God."
Glasspool believes healing and reconciling in Christ's name is one of the Christian church's primary missions. That same ministry of reconciliation is also the way to mend rifts between present and former Episcopal parishes. To emphasize her point, she paraphrased a passage from 2 Corinthians 5:16.
"As Paul said, 'From now on therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view (but from) Christ's point of view. If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation, everything old has passed away ... everything has become new.'"
It's important to reach out, she said, and to allow people who have disagreed in the past "space and room" to change their minds.
"In the Episcopal Church there is room enough to disagree with one another even about what things you believe as long as we are centered on the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ," she said. "Some churches do this by (offering) an 'Invitation to Communion.'"
At the time of the interview, Glasspool had not yet written the sermon she will deliver tomorrow at Grace. But she indicated her topic would hinge on one of the readings for the day, Luke 14:1 and 7-14, which many interpret as a lesson on humility.
"The Gospel for that Sunday is about Jesus going to the house of the leader of the Pharisees and then telling the parable about the seating at a wedding banquet," she said. "I think that gives me a lot of room to reflect."
Camille Gavin is a lifelong Episcopalian and a member of Grace Episcopal Church.
