A conversation with Bishop Gene Robinson

by Rob Howard
Assistant Editor
Openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson fielded questions about religion and life at the Creating Change conference in Atlanta on Saturday. The wisdom of this gay icon, the peace of his demeanor, gripped his audience, and moved many of them emotionally.

On dealing with those who disagree with us: "Remember they are a child of God. They are only believing hat they were taught to believe." We need to convince them that the world will not fall apart if they change their mind. He pointed out that the church had changed its mind on many issues, notably women's rights and slavery. Better to remind them of Jesus' to send them the Holy Spirit to lead them into the truth. He said "We worship a living god who wants to reveal more to us as we go along. It's easier for a conservative Christian to believe that god is still revealing himself than that what they believe about scripture is wrong."

On "What do we do with what we have learned here [at Creating Change]?" Bishop Robinson replied "Don't underestimate the power of attending a conference like this. You will draw strength from it for many days to come." He continued "Become a pain in the ass about mentioning the words gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. There will be someone hearing you that draws comfort in hearing the words. Like we drew comfort from hearing the President mention the word gay in his inaugural address. You don't always have to see the results for the results to be there."

On how to measure progress in the LGBT movement: "We are going to hit brick walls, but remember we are in this for the long haul. Feel good about being a witness and put good words around that witness. Then you will last forever."

The Bishop covered many more topics in his wide ranging, inspirational conversation.

Rob Howard has been reporting live from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Creating Change meeting held in Atlanta, GA this week.