Encouraging Conversations: Resources for Talking about Same-Sex Blessings

Fredrica Harris Thompsett

May 2013 · Church Publishing, Inc.

About this eBook

With the authorization of "I Will Bless You and You Will Be A Blessing," more Episcopal parishes will be preparing to be in conversation about same-sex blessings and issues of sexuality. This volume is designed to tell the stories of parishes and dioceses where the conversation has been held: what worked, what didn't work, how the conversation shaped and was shaped by those involved. Harris Thompsett pulls in a range of voices and resources, designed to aid those congregations now approaching this exciting opportunity.

About the author

Gene Robinson was the ninth bishop (2003-2013) of the Diocese of New Hampshire in The Episcopal Church. A graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, he served as parish priest, retreat center director, and Canon to the Ordinary before his election to the episcopate. Since his retirement, he has continued an active speaking and writing schedule and serves as Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC.

Fredrica Harris Thompsett is the retired Mary Wolfe professor of historical theology at the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, where she has also served as academic dean for fourteen years. She is the author or editor of several books including Looking Forward, Looking Backward: Forty Years of Women’s Ordination and the highly regarded We Are Theologians.