Gene Robinson was the the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop.
a large swath of worshipers who didn’t approve of having an openly gay man in the roleThe splinter caused a lengthy legal debate over church property that ended in
Robinson, 75, began by telling attendees that he’s been praying for them since the split, explaining that divisions within congregations were never his intention. “Up to that point, I had known a lot of self-identifying Christian and queer people,” she said. “I knew that those things could be in conjunction with one another. It was surprising it could create such a schism.”response to Robinson made her question if she should call herself a Christian, she said. But a gay priest in her hometown of Minneapolis explained to her that the bigotry of some didn’t determine what was true for the majority, she said.