Diocese of British Columbia

[Diocese of Caledonia <bishopj@citytel.net>]

Dear Gentle Louie,

I have recently moved from being Bishop of Caledonia (the diocese in
northern BritishColumbia which is immediate east of the Alaska panhandle) to
being rector of a parish in Victoria (Diocese of British Columbia.)

I have become part of the social circle in Victoria of a gay man who has
been a close personal friend for 33 years. Coming from a northern diocese of
small communities, this has put me in touch with many gay people at one
time. Some of these friends have no or little contact with the church, some
of them are involved in various congregations including the one of which I
am rector. My friend has joined this congregation and is a regular
participant in the life of St Barnabas, after having been on the periphery
of the church for many years. I have not heard anyone express antagonism to
the church, but those of that circle who might be antagonistic might not
express that to me.

My relationship with my friend enables us to talk about anything we want,
including "gay/church relationships", but, at this stage, I am just a
newcomer to my friend's friends and am just listening and sharing at
whatever level is appropriate to new relationships.

While I have had some signficant contacts with members of the Vancouver
branch of Integrity, this is the first time I have been part of (albeit, at
this time, on the fringe) of a group of urban gays.

You will, no doubt, have some awareness of what is happening in British
Columbia in regard to the church and gay people through hearing of Bishop
Michael Ingham and his diocese of New Westminster and, perhaps, Archbishop
Crawley of Kootenay (formerly rector of St Paul's in Vancouver) and Bishop
Jim Cruickshank of Cariboo (formerly Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in
Vancouver.)

Yours in Christ,      +John