When Kathleen Boatwright fell in love with a woman at church, she fell hard. But this was no carefree romance. The church was staunchly anti-gay. Kathleen was married to a man and had four children. When Kathleen Boatwright came out in the mids and decided to pursue a lesbian relationship, she was shunned by her family and the conservative, evangelical community she called home.
In New York City, the Episcopal Church extended an early, if uneven, embrace of gay and lesbian people. In , the church was also the site of the controversial ordination of Rev. Ellen M. Barrett , the first out lesbian to be ordained to the priesthood.
In , around members formed a handful of chapters and held a national convention. By , there were 58 Integrity chapters and more than 2, members. After nearly five decades of advocacy, Integrity dissolved in early The group TransEpiscopal works specifically toward the full embrace of trans and nonbinary people within the church.
Robert Williams. But Williams, controversial for being outspoken and sex-positive , was asked to resign less than two months after being ordained. He died from AIDS-related complications in In , the Rt. Gene Robinson became the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, setting off a historic rift in the Anglican Communion. He wore a bulletproof vest at his consecration , amid a torrent of death threats and protests. Mary D. Glasspool became the first openly lesbian Episcopal bishop.
At its General Convention, the church officially approved the ordination of trans clergy. Learn more about Murray here. Immediately following the U. Supreme Court decision that declared same-sex marriage legal in , the General Convention of the Episcopal Church adopted a resolution to allow religious ceremonies for gay couples. The larger Anglican Communion issued three years of sanctions against them as a disciplinary response.
