From Oregon-
Five years ago this spring, Eugene-based Episcopal priest Ted Berktold was in the middle of a mess. Gene Robinson, an openly gay Episcopal priest, had been elected bishop of New Hampshire, and the ripple effects were coursing through Berktold's parish of St. Mary's. Several people were threatening to leave.
Back then, Berktold's goal was to keep parishioners together and moving forward in the debate over equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) individuals. The reactions Berktold faced to Robinson's election were significant for several reasons: The national Episcopal Church often serves as a bellwether of broader social change, and Robinson's election seemed to be a statement of principle by American bishops. Those bishops faced a threat of schism from the international Anglican Communion, and they were taking a stand.
I profiled Berktold at that time in 2005 for a regional magazine because I thought him a great lens through which to examine the debates within the national church. Berktold is the smart, humble son of Minnesota farmers, and he studied in the 1960s under renowned theologians at both the Episcopal Divinity and Harvard Divinity schools after leaving Catholic seminary over a growing desire to marry and objections to bias against women. He then became an Episcopal priest, married and spent three decades leading parishes in Minnesota and Oregon.
This spring, Berktold retired from St. Mary's, having successfully avoided schism within his parish, and he handed the church to a 28-year-old priest named Bingham Powell.
More here-
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/05/the_episcopal_example_courage.html
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