Is the current firestorm in the Episcopal Church over the ordination of homosexuals rooted in the earlier controversy over ordination of women?

Faquier Times-Democrat:

Is the current firestorm in the Episcopal Church over the ordination of homosexuals rooted in the earlier controversy over ordination of women?

The Rev. Caroline Parkinson thinks so. "The Great Commandment is not about exclusion," she said firmly. "I try to test everything against what the Gospel says. I have trouble with the whole notion of excluding people from God's table and from ordained ministry. I am an Episcopalian because we have a tradition not only of Scripture but also of reason."

Parkinson is the Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains. Before she was ordained, she taught history and political science at the high school level. One day a student interviewing her for the school newspaper asked her what she envisioned doing in 15 years. "Well, I loved what I was doing, but the sense of peace that I longed for just wasn't there," she said.

The ordination of women had recently been approved, and Parkinson began the arduous process of discernment leading to ordination.

"It was grueling," she said. "They pass you through three levels of questioning by individuals and committees, and through physical and psychiatric examinations. They want to be absolutely certain that you're doing this for the right reasons, that people entering the priesthood are healthy both physically and emotionally."

Even more stressful was the fact that Parkinson's father and brother were adamantly opposed to women's ordination; indeed, her father left the church as a result of its decision.

"I've had a few run-ins with hostility over the years," she said. "It's infrequent, but it happens. One Anglican priest I met at a dinner refused to speak to or look at me."
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Last month, Parkinson was in the running to succeed Peter James Lee as a new diocesan bishop. ...

Parkinson's view on Paul's prohibition against women speaking out in churches? "This is not Corinth," said Parkinson. "Paul was writing to a particular congregation in a particular set of circumstances."

She added, "For centuries Anglicans have tolerated deep disagreements and controversy over official church positions or policy while maintaining the unity of the Church in the love of Christ. The Church has been enriched by diverse interpretations of Scripture, the inclusiveness of the Gospel and openness to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit."