An LGBTQ+-friendly Easter Vigil was thrown into temporary turmoil after a prominent Anglican bishop ripped off the collar of a female pastor who briefly went blank during a Eucharistic prayer presided over by a drag queen. Ta.
Bishop Alan M. Gates was caught on camera ripping the priest’s collar from the neck of the Rev. Tamara Tucker during the Easter Vigil at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston on March 30. It’s been criticized.
Mr. Tucker is the pastor and lead organizer of The Crossing, an emerging church worship community that provides a radically welcoming and safe space for everyone, including the LGBTQ community.
The pastor lost his train of thought while instructing his congregation on the proper procedure for receiving Holy Communion.
Ms. Tucker’s gaffe, which was blamed on her recent absence, was a failed attempt at humor by Mr. Gates during one of the most sacred and intimate sacraments in many Christian churches.
“Very simply, you allow someone to take your bread, your little bread. And you say to the person who takes the bread,” Tucker said before stopping.
“Wait a minute, what? I haven’t been there in a while.”
“The body of Christ,” Tucker exclaims.
There was a moment of silence, followed by laughter from everyone around the pastor, including Mr. Gates.
“It’s very simple, the body of Christ, that’s it. That’s all you have to do,” Tucker explains.
“And when they take the cup, you give them the love of Christ or the blood of Christ, whichever is more pleasant to you.”
“Can you do that? If you can do that in three months, I think you can do it.”
Without a word, Gates walked up to Tucker and pulled a white plastic insert from the pastor’s collar, much to her dismay but the joy of the rest of the church.
After thinking for a moment, Gates handed the collar back to Tucker, said, “I’m just kidding,” and put a hand on her shoulder.
Those inside the cathedral did not find Gates’ behavior on the altar funny and even condemned the bishop’s actions for exposing the misogyny that has plagued the church in the past.
“It was truly sad that what was supposed to be a joyful event had to be marked by the specter of long-standing misogyny that is so inherent to Christianity, even though it feels like we are moving beyond that. Even in church,” the pastor said.Rita Powell, pastor of the Harvard Episcopal Community, attended the service. He told the Boston Globe.
“I know that Bishop Gates did not intentionally think that way,” Powell said, calling Bishop Gates “a good man.”
A representative for the diocese to which the cathedral is affiliated said the bishop’s actions were “inconsiderate, although they took place in the casual context of non-traditional worship.”
Tracy J. Skrow, a spokeswoman for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, said, “His heartfelt desire was to apologize and make amends, and we are currently working on that.” he told the newspaper.
Two weeks after the wake, Gates addressed the incident and apologized for his “misguided prank.”
“Near the end of the Eucharistic prayer, there was a moment at the altar when Pastor Tamra left the next line blank, as any worship leader knows all too well,” the bishop said in a statement. It is shared by the parish.
“In a completely misguided moment of prank, I reached down and unhooked Pastor Tamra’s collar. It was a devastating and humiliating act, and I sincerely regret it.”
Gates apologized to both Tucker and her worship community for disrespecting the pastor.
“By my actions, I abused my authority, failed to extend the grace of the bishop, and violated personal space and boundaries. I am truly sorry.
“I express my remorse and apology to Reverend Tamra Tucker. To the Crossing community. To the Cathedral community. To other communities that exist. To my ecumenical colleagues who attended the vigil. And to the wider community I have hurt. To the people of the church and community.”
Mr. Tucker did not respond to the paper’s request for comment, saying he was not ready to address the issue.
