W. Va. pastor pulls back on blessing gay couples

CHARLESTON, W. Va. (AP) — St. John's Episcopal Church must continue to minister to homosexuals despite an announcement that its pastor will no longer say "liturgies of friendships" for homosexual couples, church board members said here.

The Rev. James Lewis said that "after much conversation and soulsearching" he had decided not to bless couples of the same sex in the future after being admonished for the practice by his bishop.

The Rev. Mr. Lewis has allowed a group of homosexuals to meet weekly at St. John's for about a year.

Several months ago two male homosexuals asked him for a blessing of their commitment.

"I was totally unprepared for such a request," he said. "There has been nothing in my past theological training or in my present liturgical or theological frame of reference which could guide me. I felt very much on my own."

In March, he agreed to say a liturgy for the two men, who had been living together for some time, but Bishop Robert Atkinson disapproved and admonished him.

The bishop rescinded the admonition in April but issued a second admonition after the Rev. Mr. Lewis later blessed a female couple.

Bishop Atkinson told St. John's parishioners that he issued the Rev. Mr. Lewis a "godly, admonition," which, if disobeyed, could be the first step toward expulsion from the church.

St. John's board members later issued a statement "reaffirming the ministry of Jim Lewis as rector of St. John's," and saying the church would stay open to homosexuals.