Despite the near certainty of death threats and more outcry from other religious and conservative groups, Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson plans to enter into a civil union with his partner on Saturday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord, N.H. The ceremony will take place just before the church's biggest ecclesiastical conference -- which Robinson was barred from attending -- because, he says, it is what God asks of him.
"When your life is at stake, you learn that there are things in life that are much worse than death," Robinson said on the Today show on Thursday. "That's the great reward of being a Christian. Not living your life -- that's worse than death. And if something were to happen to me, I would know that I am doing what I discern God is calling me to do."
In 2003, Robinson was elected by New Hampshire congregations as the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. He will join with Mark Andrew, his partner of 20 years, to obtain legal protections for his partner and two daughters from a previous marriage.
"I am simply not going to...put my life in jeopardy without putting into place the protections for my beloved partner and my children and my grandchildren that are offered to me in a civil union," Robinson said on Today. "I think any husband or wife would want to do that."
Since Robinson was consecrated, nearly 100 of the 8,000 Episcopal churches in the U.S. have split with the American faction and aligned with the highly conservative Anglicans in Africa. (The Advocate)
