Integrity Renamed “The Episcopal Rainbow”
by Jeffrey Walton, Juicy Ecumenism:
Integrity USA, the unofficial LGBT caucus within the Episcopal Church, has announced a new name and new president for the 43-year-old activist organization.
The Rev. Gwen Fry, who identifies as a transgender woman, will lead the group under a new name, The Episcopal Rainbow, beginning in October 2018. Integrity officials explained that the organization needed to transition to a name which indicated its Episcopal identity. The name change takes effect at the conclusion of the church’s 79th General Convention meeting this week in Austin, Texas.
The announcement was made during the group’s Integrity Eucharist on July 8. The service of Holy Communion is held concurrently with General Convention every three years and attended by several hundred LGBT persons and supporters at the JW Marriott near the Austin Convention Center.
The Rev. Gwen Fry (Photo: Rolling the Stone Away gathering)
The former Greg Fry was a priest in Arkansas when in 2014 he shocked his Pine Bluff parish by identifying as a transgender person and was removed from his position by Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas Bishop Larry Benfield. Fry previously served as Diocesan Coordinator for Integrity USA and is a member of TransEpiscopal, representing the group at the 2015 Episcopal General Convention in Salt Lake City. Fry also has connections with the broader Religious Left, serving as a panelist at a Wild Goose Festival 2015 session entitled “LGBTQ Lives: Hurt & Healing.” IRD’s Matthew Maule profiled Fry as one of several prominent transgender clergy, a report that you can read by clicking here.
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