Episcopal Press and News
Controversy Surrounds Restrained Ordination of a Lesbian to the Priesthood
Episcopal News Service. June 12, 1991 [91137]
Just a month before the debate over homosexuality is expected to erupt at the Episcopal Church's General Convention in Phoenix, Bishop Ronald Haines of Washington (D.C.) ordained a lesbian to the priesthood at the Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington on June 5.
The ordination of the Rev. Elizabeth Carl, 44, was restrained and orderly despite two protests and the backdrop of the heated debate in the wider church over the subject of homosexuality.
In a statement released prior to the service, Haines said that Carl "has for a number of years openly lived in a loving and intimate relationship with another woman" in a lifelong and monogamous commitment.
"The ordination of one whose lifestyle involves sexual relations outside of marriage troubles me greatly," Haines continued. "There are, in my view, scriptural passages and historical teachings of the church that appear to be at odds with ordination of homosexuals and that cannot easily be answered or put aside," he said.
However, Haines asserted that while "the sexual orientation and lifestyle of a candidate for ordination warrant serious consideration...they are not the only determinative factors. I am not persuaded that one's homosexuality, for example, should by itself be an absolute bar to ordination in all cases."
Haines said that after a thorough examination of Carl and the diocesan ordination process that recommended her, "I have concluded that there is no impediment to her ordination...."
The announcement of Carl's ordination clearly surprised Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning and prompted a suggestion that the ordination be postponed. "We know from past experience that events such as the ordination in the Diocese of Washington can trigger the sort of attention that may make positive dialogue more difficult, and polarize the church," Browning said in a statement released from the Episcopal Church Center in New York.
"Consequently, when I was first informed by the bishop of Washington on Tuesday, June 4, of the ordination scheduled for June 5, I asked that he reconsider for the good of the whole church and the impending discussion at General Convention," Browning added.
In anticipation of tension and in an attempt to avoid publicity, uniformed guards stood outside the church, while signs prohibited the use of cameras during the service. Inside, the ordination ceremony unfolded with little drama or much indication that the service was anything out of the ordinary.
After Carl was presented to the bishop, he said, "If any of you know any impediment or crime because of which we should not proceed, come forward now and make it known." At that point the Rev. James West, a priest with nearly 50 years of service in the Washington Diocese, came forward and in a measured and gentle tone urged that "the impediment of lifestyle" should prevent the ordination of Carl. Calling it a "difficult and heartbreaking moment," West said, "We do honestly feel that to have kept silence about the impediment would have not honored Christ."
West was followed by TiJuana Rountree, a member of Calvary Church in Washington, who charged that "Miss Carl's lifestyle is not suitable for this ministry.... Her lifestyle is not acceptable to God." Rountree said that Carl "must not continue to live in sin," but to "call on Jesus for forgiveness."
During the objections, a composed Carl listened attentively with little visible sign of reaction.
In response to the objections, Haines called for a moment of silent prayer, and afterward said, "I feel in all due respect [the objections] have not put forth any additional information" than has already been "prayerfully and fearfully considered. Respecting your objections," he said, "we will proceed."
Haines then asked the congregation, "Is it your will that Elizabeth be ordained as a priest?" The congregation erupted with a resounding, "It is."
The ceremony proceeded without incident. When the bishop invited priests to join him in the ritual of the laying on of hands, about 50 priests clad in white alb and red stoles encircled Carl -- including the Rev. James West, who had objected to the ordination moments before.
One of the few spontaneous outbursts of emotion occurred after the ordination of Carl, when the congregation rose in a standing ovation as the Rev. Edgar Romig, rector of the Church of the Epiphany, officially welcomed and greeted Bishop Haines.
"I saw the ovation as a supportive symbol of appreciation for the bishop -- that he [Haines] went through with the ordination and held his ground," said John Michael Sophos, a member of St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, after the service.
At a press conference following the service, Haines said he was "aware of the pain and difficulty" that the ordination might cause for some in the church. Yet, he denied that the timing of the service was intended to affect the debate at the General Convention.
Carl began her part-time appointment as assistant minister at Church of the Epiphany on May 1. According to Romig, Carl would serve as a counselor to the elderly as well as visiting sick Episcopalians in Washington area hospitals. "She is a superb pastor," he said.
Haines described Carl, who did not participate in the press conference, as "intelligent, a very private person," and a person of prayer, compassion, and empathy. He repeated his contention that "she does not seek to use her ordained ministry as a public platform to advance any perceived cause relating to human sexuality."
Formerly a United Methodist from Houston, Texas, Carl was confirmed an Episcopalian while a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She received a bachelor's degree in comparative literature there and later earned a graduate degree in library science from the Catholic University of America. She worked for the Library of Congress for 16 years. Carl graduated from the Union Theological Seminary in New York with a master of divinity degree in 1990 and was ordained a deacon last year.
Among the first Episcopalians in Washington to respond publicly to the news of Carl's ordination was President George Bush. In response to a reporter's question, Bush said, "Perhaps I'm a little old-fashioned, but I'm not quite ready for that."
Bush, who was en route to Washington from a visit to the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta, recognized that the question of ordaining homosexuals remains a matter of contention across denominational lines. "To be very candid with you, I think the churches, regional churches, branch churches, have a right to do what they want," he told reporters.