Not a few bloggers have written of Honor Moore's book titled The Bishop's Daughter, about her father, Bishop Paul Moore, the 13th Episcopal Bishop of New York, and the "open secret" of his sexuality. An excerpt from the book is in the March 3, 2008 issue of The New Yorker.
Caminante posted a lovely reflection on Bishop Moore at her blog, titled "Dear Paul".
There are many who have their Paul Moore stories… mine is taking a quarter-credit course my middler year in seminary with him. The subject was ministry in the urban setting but mostly it was listening to this retired bishop prophet muse about his lifetime of ministry. The papers he had us write were thought-provoking and posed questions I still use in ministry.
Do read the rest of Caminante's moving account of her experience in his class. I felt almost as though I was there with her in the class. In the comments to her post, I left these words, "And don't we all have our secrets that only God knows?"
The article is not available online, but here's the link to an audio interview with Honor Moore at the The New Yorker website.
Other bloggers who have posted on Honor Moore's book are Mark Harris at Preludium and Elizabeth Kaeton at Telling Secrets.
Paul Moore and other activist bishops are why I came back to church. He is a hero of his time. Nevertheless he and his wife are victims of a time when the closet was the only choice for those who aspired to bishop - a terrible price IMO. The adultery was just part of the picture - the lack of the ability to be really intimate with one's partner is another.
ReplyDeleteAnn, I don't have that issue of the New Yorker yet. My periodicals come very slowly since Katrina. Did you know the "open secret" before now?
ReplyDeleteGrandmere -
ReplyDeleteI did not know the open secret either. But I've always been proud of Paul Moore. After he served at Grace van Vorst, in Jersey city (in my diocese) he was called as Dean and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, which is my home parish, which called me into the ordained ministry. I haven't read the excerpt yet, but the 1986 on the New Yorker website is pretty good so far.
RFSJ
rfsj.blogspot.com
RFSJ, I meant to read the 1986 article after I listened to the audio by Honor Moore. I'll have to go back.
ReplyDeleteApparently, he was considered a hero by many. I wasn't paying attention to the Episcopal Church back then.
I just got my New Yorker yesterday, and the Honor Moore excerpt was the first thing I read. I knew absolutely nothing about Paul Moore anyway, so I was not dismayed (nor surprised, frankly) by the "open secret." It was a good read -- I may grab the book.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired, tired of getting my magazines so late. Sometimes I get two issues of the weeklies on the same day.
ReplyDelete