Anglican Bishop from Kenya 'Shocked' When He Is Prevented from Preaching against Homosexuality
Episcopal News Service. May 24, 1990 [90139]
An Anglican bishop from Kenya called a press conference May 21 to blast a gay rector for allegedly barring him from preaching against homosexuality.
Bishop Alexander Muge from the Diocese of Eldoret, on a speaking and fundraising tour for African Team Ministries, was scheduled to preach at St. Luke's Church in Walnut Creek, near San Francisco. During a dinner conversation with the Rev. Gary Ost, Muge said that the decline in the Episcopal Church "is the result of the secularization of the Gospel and the lack of self-discipline (including homosexuality) among the clergy of the church," according to the bishop's news release. During some heated conversation, Ost identified himself as a homosexual who is out to his bishop and parish. He then withdrew the invitation for the bishop to preach, according to accounts of the incident.
"I told him the Bible condemns all sorts of immorality -- adultery, fornication, and homosexuality, and that confessed homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God unless they repent and change their lifestyle," Muge said at the press conference arranged by local supporters of the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA). The ESA was formed a year ago as "a church within the church" to oppose what it perceives as liberal trends in the Episcopal Church, including issues of sexual morality.
In his opening remarks at the press conference, Muge said he wanted to "express my sorrow at the state of the church of Christ in this country with a hope that my public displeasure might be a means of encouragement to the remnants of the Lord's flock, not only in the USA, but the world over."
Bishop William Swing of the Diocese of California issued a strong statement questioning Muge's tactics in revealing the confidences of a priest in a public forum. Swing also expressed annoyance that the bishop entered the diocese without notifying the local bishop. "If Bishop Muge felt deeply about a spiritual matter in the Diocese of California, why didn't he sit down and talk about it first with the bishop of the Diocese of California, rather than hold a press conference?" Swing asked.
Swing said he suspected Muge was "naively being used by some background group that is trying to exploit his moral bias in matters of human sexuality to further their own cause," an obvious reference to ESA sympathizers in the diocese who actively encouraged Muge to go public with his criticism, according to diocesan sources.
Swing pointed out that his diocese, and the whole Episcopal Church, has been studying the issue of sexuality. "For Bishop Muge to fly in here and, in a few days and with an extremely limited participation in this family's problem, to pronounce his conclusion, is a marginal contribution, at best, to the full life of our diocese." It may strengthen some local voices of dissent but it doesn't enrich the deeper discussion of the issues, Swing said.