Gay, lesbian bishops meet online with archbishop of Canterbury ahead of Lambeth Conference

Jan 13, 2022 by Jill

by David Paulsen, ENS:

Four gay and lesbian Episcopal bishops, along with two from Anglican dioceses in Canada and Wales, spoke with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Jan. 11 in what they described afterward as “a very Christ-centered meeting,” as bishops across the global Anglican Communion prepare to attend the Lambeth Conference in late July and early August.

After the bishops’ Zoom meeting with Welby, Missouri Bishop Deon Johnson posted a screengrab of the meeting to his Facebook page. The participating bishops declined to comment further when Episcopal News Service inquired with their dioceses. The Diocese of Missouri later told ENS that the LGBTQ bishops had initiated the meeting.

The archbishop of Canterbury convenes the Lambeth Conference of bishops about every 10 years. Tensions over LGBTQ bishops’ attendance at this year’s conference has focused on Welby’s decision to invite those bishops but not their spouses. Within The Episcopal Church, criticism of that decision came to a head at the September 2019 meeting of the House of Bishops, which issued a message of solidarity with the bishops and their excluded spouses.

The controversy was not addressed the Facebook post by Johnson. He was joined in the meeting by New York Assistant Bishop Mary Glasspool, Maine Bishop Thomas Brown and Michigan Bishop Bonnie Perry. Bishop Kevin Robertson of Canada’s Diocese of Toronto and Bishop Cherry Vann of Wales’ Diocese of Monmouth also participated.

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