Local
Md. lesbian Episcopal priest elected bishop in L.A.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the British-based spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, says the election earlier this month of a lesbian Episcopal priest from Annapolis, Md., as assistant bishop in Los Angeles could be reversed to avert a further split in the church over homosexuality.
Archbishop Rowan Williams told Reuters News Service in London that the election of Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles as the church’s first lesbian bishop “raises very serious questions” for the Episcopal Church, which serves as the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
“The process of selection is only part complete,” Williams said. “The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications.”
The confirmation process of bishops elected by Episcopal dioceses has long been considered a formality. Bishops from all U.S. Episcopal dioceses, who vote by mail to confirm such elections, almost always uphold the elections. A refusal to confirm Glasspool’s election would be viewed as a clear rebuke due to fears that her sexual orientation would worsen the church rift over the ordination of gays, according to church observers.
Glasspool, 55, spoke to the Baltimore Sun and other media outlets the day after her Dec. 5 election to the post of assistant bishop in the Los Angeles Episcopal diocese. But this week, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Maryland, to which Glasspool is currently assigned, told DC Agenda she was no longer granting interviews until at least Jan. 4 due to “family commitments.”
Her election comes at a time when Episcopal congregations continue to struggle over the issue of whether to ordain gay clergy following the election in 2003 of gay Episcopal priest V. Gene Robinson as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire.
Robinson’s election prompted dozens of conservative Episcopal congregations to sever ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church, with some creating new ties with ultra-conservative Anglican dioceses in Africa and South America.
At the urging of the Archbishop of Canterbury, most U.S. Episcopal dioceses agreed to a moratorium on electing gay bishops shortly after Robinson’s election. But earlier this year, U.S. Episcopal Church leaders voted at their national convention in Anaheim, Calif., to remove all barriers to the selection of gay men and lesbians to top church positions, including the post of bishop.
A statement on the Dioceses of Los Angeles web site says Glasspool was approached by diocesan officials in L.A. to apply for one of two vacant posts for assistant bishop, which are referred to in the church as “Bishop Suffragan” positions.
The statement says she was elected on the seventh ballot cast by about 800 clergy and lay delegates to the annual meeting of the L.A. Diocesan Convention in Riverside, Calif. It also notes that she is the second woman to be elected a bishop since the diocese was founded 114 years ago.
Biographical information released by the diocese says Glasspool is a resident of Annapolis, Md., and lives with her domestic partner of 19 years, Becki Sanders. Glasspool, a native of New York City, was ordained a priest in 1982 in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. She holds a master of divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.
If confirmed by U.S. Episcopal bishops in the consent process, Glasspool is scheduled to be ordained as a bishop in May 2010 in Los Angeles.
“I am very excited about the future of the whole Episcopal Church, and I see the Diocese of Los Angeles leading the way into that future,” Glasspool said in a statement released the day following her election to the L.A. Diocese.
“But just for this moment, let me say again, thank you, and thanks be to our loving, surprising God,” she said. “I look forward, in the coming months, to getting to know you all better, as together we build up the Body of Christ for the world.”
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.
Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.
The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.
“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.
Reid has strongly denied the reports.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
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