Bishop Gene Robinson Closes White House Breakfast in Prayer

on April 16, 2014

Retired Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson was back in the news this week, attending the fifth annual White House Easter prayer breakfast. The first partnered openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion enthusiastically tweeted about the event:

“POTUS ‘preaches’ at the Easter prayer breakfast. Then, out of the blue, asks ME to close with prayer. OMG! #privilege”

“The ‘OMG!’ was actually a prayer for help,” Robinson explained to MSNBC’s Alex Wagner during a segment on the Lawrence O’Donnell show that night. While video cameras did not capture Robinson’s prayer, Wagner asked the Episcopal Church bishop to share what he prayed about.

“I did what I always do in prayer, which is to ask God’s blessing on all of God’s children worldwide,” Robinson explained. “I asked a special blessing on this nation and our president, and also – since you mentioned Pope Francis – I always pray for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. I think God cares especially about them.”

“To be quite honest with you I can’t remember all of what I said because I had no time to prepare for it,” Robinson added.

“Perhaps it was better that way because you had divine intervention,” Wagner offered.

Asked by Wagner how optimistic he was about the Catholic Church, and the church in general, “getting closer to opening its doors truly and meaningfully to the LGBT community,” Robinson responded:

“I think it’s taken on an air of inevitability. We see such change in the culture. President Obama’s evolution on this topic is really a reflection of what has happened all across the nation, across every demographic group – and certainly among young people. They just don’t know what the big deal is. And I think we will see even the more conservative religious groups understanding that the love two people share, one for another, is of God and the gender of those people is not the important thing, it’s the love and the relationship and that’s what really makes sense.”

While Robinson no longer serves as diocesan bishop for New Hampshire, he splits his time between the Granite State and the nation’s capital serving as a senior fellow at the liberal think tank Center for American Progress. Robinson is also “Bishop in Residence” at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Parish in Dupont Circle.

Asked about the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church and if this is the beginning of a reconciliation period, Robinson responded:

“What every victim of abuse – be they children or adults — wants to hear is ‘I’m so sorry, this should never have happened to you’ and to hear the church and the Pope himself take some responsibility for that and to say how sorry he is, I think is the first step. There are many others steps to be taken to make sure that all of our churches are safe, but it’s a beginning.”

Under the leadership of Robinson, the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire lost almost 18 percent of its membership, dropping from 15,621 in 2003 to 12,896 in 2012, the 2011-2012 drop the worst reported in Northeastern regional Province 1. Diocesan average Sunday attendance saw a similar drop from 4,858 in 2003 to 4,027 in 2012 according to self-reported diocesan statistics provided by the Episcopal Church.

  1. Comment by Daniel on April 16, 2014 at 9:23 am

    Couldn’t they practice truth in advertising and just call it the Spring equinox prayer breakfast?

  2. Comment by Sam on April 16, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    Daniel, are you indicating that you believe it wasn’t a Christian breakfast because you disagree with Bishop Robinson’s ordination? If so, are you suggesting that, Bishop or not, Gene Robinson cannot be a Christian?

  3. Comment by Daniel on April 16, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    Sam,

    Absolutely! Gene denies basic Christian doctrine, therefore he is not a Christian in the classical, orthodox sense, although I wouldn’t necessarily say he crosses over into the blatant heretic category of John Spong. I am reminded of Gene’s “I said the Creeds with my fingers crossed” comment, in particular

  4. Comment by Rev Andrew Gerales Gentry on April 18, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Sam’s comments remind me of the Pharisees charge that Jesus denied the basic tenets of the Torah and violated them by amongst other things talking to racially mixed women like the Samaritan woman, eating and drinking with sinners, healing non believer’s beloved servant, healing on the Sabbath which by the way Sam I am sure you do not observe but rather Sunday which is NOT the Hebrew Sabbath that Jesus did in fact observe, and even going so far as to contradict the teaching on divorce so sometimes in our smugness and poorly disguised hatred of someone we best be careful of hurling pontifical like condemnations of people!

  5. Comment by Marco Bell on April 18, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Hallelujah, Reverend Gentry!

  6. Comment by Dan on April 20, 2014 at 8:34 am

    I acknowledge that all Christians are sinners. The point is that Christians are seeking repentance for their sins. In my opinion if you preach sin, which the Bible clearly states homosexuality is, then you are not a Christian. A penitent homosexual will not encourage others to partake in that lifestyle.

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