Tuesday, Gene Robinson was accepted as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church of America. The denomination’s decision marks what some say could be a pivotal point in the history of the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal church.

&uot;I support Gene’s election. He was elected according to the proper and legal procedure of the the Epsicopal Church,&uot; said the Rev. Jim Young, rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Albert Lea. &uot;I have been concerned with the reaction of the larger church.&uot;

Some conservatives in the Episcopal church were deeply disappointed with the decision, but Young said he doesn’t believe it will cause a large divide in the church body.

According to Young, the church has faced changes like these in the past, but none have ruined the church.

&uot;When we began ordaining women in 1976, many thought the church would fall apart, but it didn’t,&uot; Young said. &uot;Some people did leave the church because of that and that saddens me, but the core of the church has remained and has endured.&uot;

Young said he feels the church will adjust to the change, as it has in the past, and move on.

The Anglicans’ spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, appealed for opponents not to act rashly in response to the Rev. V. Gene Robinson’s approval Tuesday as bishop of New Hampshire. But Williams acknowledged it would inevitably have a &uot;significant impact&uot; on the worldwide Anglican Communion. &uot;It is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response,&uot; he said.

Young pointed out that the Episcopal church was founded with a focus on inclusiveness. When first started, the church was the established church of the England. He said the church, in a way, was a middle way or &uot;Via Media&uot; between the Catholic and Protestant churches. The Episcopal church’s official prayer book, the Book of Common Prayer, is a text, Young says, that was open to all people. Young said this ideology behind the church makes it accepting of different backgrounds and opinions.

Though the decision might not have a direct effect on other Christian denominations, the issue has been a topic of discussion for many.

The Rev. John Holt, pastor at First Lutheran Church in Albert Lea, said that his Lutheran denomination, the ELCA, has a governing document called &uot;Visions and Expectations,&uot; which sets guidelines for behavior and expectations of clergy in the church. Holt said the document doesn’t allow open homosexuals to become clergy.

He said he doesn’t agree with the Robinson decision.

&uot;I don’t think it’s right,&uot; Holt said. He said scriptures make it clear that homosexuality is wrong, but said he likely won’t address the issue from the pulpit.

The Catholic church, from which the Anglican church split in England, doesn’t have a stance on allowing gays in the clergy.

&uot;In the past it hasn’t been an issue,&uot; the Rev. Robert Schneider, of St. Theodore Catholic Church of Albert Lea, said. &uot;Whether you were gay or straight, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that you were male and that you were celebate.&uot;

But the issue has been brought up by some in the church due to the recent pedophilia scandal within the Catholic church. Some think that not allowing homosexuals into the priesthood would guard against the problem.

The church is definitely open to having homosexuals in the pews, Schneider said.

&uot;We believe that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity,&uot; he said. &uot;People have all these reasons to treat people differently because of the color of their skin or their sexual orientation. But Jesus never treated anyone else differently.&uot;

Schneider added, however, that the church does ask that homosexuals remain celebate for the rest of their life.

The Catholic church will not openly discuss the issue of homosexuality in the church, Schneider said, but that is something he believes should be done.

He said there have been statements made by the church and greater Christianity in the past that have been wrong, such as stating that slavery is OK. He said the stances on those issues have obviously changed, and said that, with time, change is always possible.

&uot;Christians used to believe the Earth was flat, and believed you’d go to hell for thinking it was round,&uot; he said. &uot;Now we know better. Who knows what we will believe in another 100 years?&uot;

The Robinson decision has brought up large-scale religious discussion on the topic. But Young said that other issues needn’t get lost in the process.

Young said many other important issues were discussed at the national conference that were equally or more important, such as the church’s approaches to terrorism, war, hunger and poverty. Most of those issues haven’t been covered by the media.

&uot;There were other important issues that were discussed that passed under the radar,&uot; Young said. &uot;This was just one of many.&uot;

(Contact Peter Cox at peter.cox@albertleatribune.com or 379-3439. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)