Whither Gay Conservatives?

In his reflection on the Primatesâ?? gathering and their decision to limit the Episcopal Churchâ??s involvement in Communion affairs for three years, Bishop Dorsey McConnell (Pittsburgh) spoke of how that decision had â??opened old woundsâ? for many in TEC. Specifically, Bishop McConnell mentioned the pain the Primatesâ?? decision brought to â??lesbian and gay members of our diocesan familyâ? as well as how the Primatesâ?? inclusion of the Anglican Church in North Americaâ??s Archbishop Foley Beach brought pain to â??our more conservative sisters and brothers who have remained in TEC out of their love for the Church.â? In the former case, Bishop McConnell is mindful of how the Primatesâ?? decision may have struck lesbian and gay Episcopalians as yet another refusal to recognize their genuine loves and their determination to belong fully to the Anglican Communion. In the latter case, the decision to welcome the ACNA bishop while suspending TEC may equally have struck many conservatives as confusing or equivocal: was TEC being somehow viewed monolithically as â??liberal,â? and were conservatives being implicitly told to look elsewhere if they wanted to find a genuine Anglican fold in which to worship and live out their faith?