EPISCOPALIANS Bishop takes stand on gays' ordination

The new bishop previously helped troubled parishes.
CLEVELAND -- The new Episcopalian bishop for northern Ohio favors the ordination of gays and lesbians as well as the urban development being spearheaded by a local church.
Bishop Mark Hollingsworth Jr., 50, was to be ordained at 10:30 a.m. today as the 11th leader of the Episcopalian Diocese of Ohio during a service at Cleveland State University's convocation center.
He most recently was an assistant to the bishop in the Diocese of Massachusetts who helped congregations and priests deal with change and problems. He's married and has four children.
He succeeds retiring Bishop J. Clark Grew II, who served since 1994. The diocese has about 100 churches with about 24,000 members in 48 counties in northern Ohio.
Support for gay bishop
Bishop Grew supported the election last year of Bishop V. Gene Robinson as leader of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, the denomination's first openly gay bishop.
The move has caused division within the diocese, the Episcopal Church in the United States and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
"I have been and am supportive of the ordination of people regardless of their sexual orientation, as well as gender and race," Bishop Hollingsworth said. "But I also recognize that not every congregation or individual church in the church is where I am."
"We need each other to work together to find where God is," he said.
The bishop also said, "I have respect for the choices of individual congregations on these matters," he said, but "As the ordinary -- the one who ordains [priests], sexual orientation would not be a defining issue."
Asked to stay out
This week, five congregations in the diocese asked the new bishop to stay out of their churches over the issue, and announced they have their own, unnamed bishop. The five churches defied church law earlier and brought in bishops from outside the diocese without permission for confirmations.
The churches are St. Barnabas in Bay Village, Church of the Holy Spirit and St. Luke's, both in Akron; St. Anne's in the Fields in Madison, and St. Stephen's in East Liverpool.
Bishop Hollingsworth declined to comment. He said previously that he plans to listen to the different voices in the debate, which will take time.
"I think the church is divided on this issue today, but clearly, the majority of this church and this diocese is supportive of a more inclusive understanding of human sexuality and a more inclusive theology of ordination."
Visited Youngstown
The bishop has also visited and toured Youngstown, where St. John's Episcopal Church has been a key part of the plan by Wick Neighbors Inc. to revitalize Smoky Hollow.
"I think the opportunities are great. I think that cities like Youngstown are the places where the church can reclaim her heritage of ministering in the urban context."
The bishop said what impressed him the most about the Youngstown project is the "tremendous collaboration" of institutions and individuals.
"I think a lot of times we focus on how our resources can come together to address a challenge, but we don't see how our challenges can come together in a way that provides an opportunity for response and growth," the bishop said. "I think that bringing together the challenges leads us to a new creativity, and a new companionship and a new collaboration that can be substantial."
Other topics that he will address include congregational development, leadership development and leadership wellness, youth and young adults, and peace and justice.