Bishop Kevin Kanouse of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, who has opposed the ordination of LGBT clergy and same-sex marriage rites, told a gathering of over 400 at the ELCA National Youth Gathering that he is gay, and has hidden and repressed his sexual orientation for decades.
In a letter, Kanouse has affirmed a commitment to his marriage of 40 years, while affirming the dignity and respect of people in LGBT marriages.
From his letter:
We are both committed to our marriage, for which I am grateful. I recognize that this is our decision and it is right for us. However, I can now say I respect those of any persuasion who live out their sexuality in bonds of marital commitment.
The Advocate and GLAAD have both covered his disclosure and statements.
Update: Huffington Post
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The adage “You are only as sick as your secrets” comes to mind here. For me, there is also an interesting reminiscence to Saul persecuting the Church before he had his Damascus Road conversion and became Paul.
In any case, I pray blessings on Bishop Kanouse and his family. This is only the beginning of a long and arduous recovery from a lifetime of lies, deceit, self-loathing, and disingenuous discrimination against his LGBT brothers and sisters.
This will not be an easy road, and it can only be accomplished by God’s grace and the rigorously honest work of this gentleman.
Welcome Out, Bishop Kanouse! Better late than never.
“However, I can now say I respect those of any persuasion who live out their sexuality in bonds of marital commitment.”
An apology to those you hurt BEFORE you began to respect your LGBT kin would be nice, though.
Admittedly, the letter doesn’t contain the word “sorry” but I took the line “I was a coward… another sin for which I needed forgiveness” to convey substantially the same sentiment.
It’s stories like this that caused me to change my mind on gay marriage. Thanks for sharing it.
The Youth Gathering event where the Bishop shared his story was called, specifically, Proclaim Story. Youth and leaders shared their stories of faith, of doubt, of shame, of love. The Bishop was moved by the Holy Spirit to share his story with those youth, as he listened to them tell their stories.
This was not a planned announcement, this was a Holy Spirit moment.
The Bishop has addressed the issue of “why at the Youth Gathering” in a post published this morning: https://ntnl.org/why-now-why-the-youth-gathering/
Thanks so much for the link!
Bro David
Why is it not? Probably the most accepting venue he’ll ever find.
True.