YOU don’t often see respect expressed for bishops (other than the hugely-likeable Anglican maverick Tutu) on this site, but one has to admire the Anglican Bishop of New Hampshire in the USA for his sheer bloody chutzpah.
All smiles, Robinson wandered amiably into the lion’s den yesterday to address Anglicans at St Mary’s Church in Putney, south west London – only to experience Christian “love” at its most virulent when a heckler shouted “repent”, “heretic” and “go back to your own country”.
Could it have been drama queen Stephen “Birdshit” Green, up to his old tricks again?
Afterwards, Robinson whose same-gender partnership has caused heated debate in the Anglican Communion, said he had not been afraid but had felt sorrow for the “darkness” in the man’s heart.
“Darkness”, of course, being a euphemism for religious zealotry.
Robinson’s address was one of several public events in the days before the July 16 opening of the deeply disfunctional Lambeth Conference, the decennial meeting of the world’s Anglican bishops.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, concerned about Anglican unity, did not invite the bishop to attend the conference, but the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, team vicar of St Mary’s, Putney, in the Diocese of Southwark, was allowed to invite Robinson to preach at the regular Sunday evening eucharist.
According to Ekklesia:
Listed in the church bulletin as a ‘quiet and reflective’ service, it turned out to be rather noisier than usual, with a couple of dozen journalists, television camera operators and a packed church in attendance.
Two demonstrators were present, one carrying a placard outside the church and handing out leaflets saying the Bible prohibits homosexuality (ho-hum) and one attempting in the church to shout down Bishop Robinson as he began his sermon.
In a faintly Pythonesque scene, the demonstrator shouted “Repent! Repent!” but he was eventually drowned out by the congregation, which rose and sang – with organ accompaniment – the hymn “Thine be the glory, risen, conquering son.” The man was escorted out by ushers.
Robinson reacted by saying, in a slightly shaky voice:
Pray for that man. Fear is a terrible thing. How sad that the Anglican Communion would threaten to tear itself apart over two men or two women who choose to make a Christian family together.
The bishop, who is visiting the UK with the protection of a bodyguard, confirmed that threats had been made against his life.
Well, of course he’s been threatened. It’s what some Christians do best, after all – especially when you abuse their bloody biscuits.
UPDATE; July 15, 2008: We speculated in this post that the heckler might have been “Birdshit” Green. We were close. Green was there, but outside the church. According to the Guardian:
A lone campaigner stood outside St Mary’s church, Putney. Stephen Green, a haggard and unshaven figure, obsessed and weighed down by the wickedness of modern Britain, handed out leaflets warning of the consequences of same-sex love, while announcing to anyone who would listen: ‘Homosexuality and sexual immorality is all on a continuum with paedophilia, bestiality, adultery, child-sacrifice. You are saying it is all OK.’
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