c. 2006 Religion News Service

NEWARK, N.J. _ The Rev. Michael Barlowe knows that if he wins election Sept. 23 as this city’s next Episcopal bishop, he’ll face months of anxiety and international attention because of his sexual orientation.

But Barlowe, one of six candidates for the post, said he believes he and the liberal Newark diocese can handle any potential problems that would result from his election _ namely, a national confirmation battle and the prospect of punitive action by the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church’s world body.

“I would never have allowed my name to go forward in this process had I not felt that God wanted me to be in this process,” Barlowe, who has been in a 24-year relationship with his partner, Paul Burrows, said at a recent news conference. “I reached that not just (from) my own personal perspective, but through consultation with folks who I find are wise and spiritually oriented and are able to assess things in ways that bring clarity to me.

“In my experience, when God asks me to do something, God never gives me something that is impossible to do,” he said.

The six candidates recently began meetings with members of the eight-county diocese, which represents about 30,000 members.

In addition to Barlowe (currently the congregational development director for the San Francisco-based Diocese of California), those seeking to become bishop are the Rev. Mark Beckwith of Worcester, Mass.; Assistant Bishop Carol Gallagher of Newark; the Very Rev. Canon Petero A.N. Sabune, of Ossining, N.Y.; the Rev. William Potter, rector of St. Luke’s Church in Hope, N.J.; and the Rev. William “Chip” Stokes of Delray Beach, Fla.

About 460 clergy and lay people will vote in an election certain to draw national attention given Barlowe’s presence on the ballot and the uproar from the election three years ago of New Hampshire’s Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop.

Opponents of Robinson’s consecration, who believe homosexuality is a sin, have threatened to split with the national church. Some conservative branches of the 77-million member Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a 2.3-million-member part, have been diminishing ties.

Last June, just days after the national church body pressured dioceses not to elect gay bishops, the Newark diocese announced Barlowe would be on its ballot.

All six candidates said they agreed with the church’s decisions to confirm Robinson and to authorize same-sex unions in dioceses where bishops allow them.

Several candidates said they wished the church _ not to mention the media _ would give less attention to the sexuality of bishops and instead focus on issues like caring for the poor and increasing church membership.

“We have to move beyond this one disabling issue and get over this preoccupation … and get on with the problems that are facing our people and our planet,” Potter said.

For delegates who see Barlowe as the best candidate, this question will arise: Should they vote for him and face international wrath from conservatives, or should they choose their second favorite candidate?

Some see it as an easy answer.

“If the gay person’s better qualified than the other ones,” said Mary Babbs, 77, a parishioner at Christ Church in Pompton Plains, N.J., “I would vote for the gay man even if it makes a big stink.”

(Jeff Diamant writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. He can be contacted at jdiamant(at)starledger.com.)

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