Bishops Support Fasting Gays Couple Hopes To Raise Awareness In Episcopal Church

A gay couple fasting to raise awareness in the Episcopal Church of same-sex relationships has received support from church bishops as well as dozens of straights and homosexuals who visit in person.

“So far, the results have been overwhelming,” James Black said Sunday, one week into the 10-day fast by Black and his partner, Thomas Monnahan. The two are living and sleeping at a church chapel during the fast.

“We’ve gotten letters of support from (Episcopal) bishops from all across the country,” Black said. He also said 50 or more people have dropped by every day of the fast.

“The outpouring of support from both the straight and the gay community who walk in and share their comments and their thoughts is just overwhelming,” Black said. “Thom and I did not expect that.”

Black said Mayor Norm Rice and his wife Constance have visited, but the biggest surprise was the onehour visit Friday by Father Daniel Berrigan, a Catholic priest and leading anti-war activist.

“He was very much in solidarity with us,” Black said.

Black, 52, a physician, and Monnahan, 39, a former scheduler for the mayor’s office, coordinated their fast at a chapel next to St. Mark’s Cathedral to coincide with a meeting of the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops in Hendersonville, N.C. The fast will end 4 p.m. PST Wednesday, the same time the bishops meeting breaks up.

The two sent an open letter to the bishops and Black said they wanted “to bear witness to the injustice and the inequality of lesbians and gays in the Episcopal Church, as far as full membership in the church.”