ALBANY AFFIRMS HUMAN RIGHTS
Something important happened last month that slipped under my radar but must be pointed out now. On September 9, 2023, a convention in the diocese of Albany (New York) elected as the next bishop a strong advocate of the rights of same-sex couples. The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson was elected on the Fourth Ballot, 65-22 in laity and 56-54 in clergy. Note the vote---the laity were far more favorable to Williamson than the clergy who had actually backed a conservative candidate until the last ballot.
Find news articles about this HERE and HERE .
Albany has been much in the news in the last few years. The previous bishop, William Love, refused to allow a rule of the nation church, B012, of 2018, to be followed in the diocese. B012 required that every diocese provide for same-sex liturgies even if substitute clergy were necessary. Love resigned as bishop in 2021 after he was charged with disciplinary action. He subsequently joined the homophobic and misogynist Anglican Church in North America. Several clergy of Albany followed Love out of TEC. The Albany Standing Committee has functioned as the ecclesiastical authority since Love's departure.
On the local level, Williamson's election tells us that the people-in-the-pews of the diocese of Albany want to be a part of the consensus of the Episcopal Church on human rights even if many of the clergy are reluctant. This is a huge turnaround in the trajectory of the diocese since the days of Bishop Love.
On the national level, Williamson's election is another manifestation of the resolute commitment of the Episcopal Church to human rights. In the past thirty years, TEC has removed sexuality as an impediment to ordination, affirmed an open and partnered gay man as a bishop, then several other open homosexuals as bishops, adopted church blessings of same-sex unions, adopted a marriage liturgy for same-sex couples, adopted and enforced B012 in 2018, a resolution that requires dioceses to provide liturgies for same-sex couples. Just this year, the nation church rejected a bishop-elect, from Florida, on suspicions to his commitment to the church's advocacy for equality and inclusion of gays. Now, the people of Albany have signaled very clearly that they agree with the national church's stand for the human rights of all people.
All of this tells us the Episcopal Church is firmly committed to enacting reforms to right the wrongs of the past. There is a lot more work to do but the road is laid out clearly and the momentum is irresistible. The people of Albany have shown us that.
