angels in america, part 4

Why, in 2004, does the Episcopal church allow gay priests and bishops? The answer, in part, for some, came about in the 1980s when folk started dying and people in parishes large and small started dealing with taking care of them.

AIDS was (and is a plague), and as people began taking care of the sick, a dialogue started between the most unlikely parties. Like Mother Pitt, a lot of folk who would claim they had never met a homosexual, learned how to be a caregiver to an AIDS patient.

Gay people, sick or not, particularly those who grew up in the church, also wanted comfort and help during what felt at the time as an overwhelmingly powerful dread. Given that for Christians, our churches are the focal point of our faith, it makes sense that gay folk within it would begin to make themselves known, would struggle and deal with who they are versus the Church's teachings and understandings of what they are.