Bishop Gene Robinson to offer Invocation at inaugural event. His gay identity has people talking.

The opening event of the Inauguration is a big deal. It is called,"We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration At The Lincoln Memorial."And Obama seems to be using it in part to make things right with people who were either disappointed or offended or hurt (or all three) by his choice to have Rick Warren, a vigorous opponent of gay marriage and gay rights offer the prayers at his inauguration on the 20th.

HBO will exclusively broadcast the opening Inaugural event, which will be free to the public, at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. On Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. ET, the event will be televised by HBO on an open signal accessible to all U.S. viewers with access to cable, telcos or satellite television.

It's a big deal. Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington.

The media and the blogosphere is coming at this from every angle imaginable. As a bell-weather for Obama's administration, it points to a hyper-observant ride.

First, a bit about Bishop V. Gene Robinson's place in history. In 2004 his election was approved by the Episcopal church in America as its first openly gay bishop. This began a poligious (my own word = political+religious) hailstorm in the worldwide Anglican communion that would take volumes to describe. Suffice to say that it lead to heated opinion on all sides of the issue. This storm, sadly, has yet to stop.

Earlier today, Bishop Robinson sent out an email. Reverend Elizabeth Keaton, an Episcopal priest, one of the recipients, says:

Note: Several of us on the Progressive side of the aisle got this note from Bishop Gene earlier this morning:

"I am writing to tell you that President-Elect Obama and the Inaugural Committee have invited me to give the invocation at the opening event of the Inaugural Week activities, “We are One,” to be held at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, January 18, at 2:00 pm....It is also an indication of the new president’s commitment to being the President of ALL the people. I am humbled and overjoyed at this invitation, and it will be my great honor to be there representing the Episcopal Church, the people of New Hampshire, and all of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community."

Mombian sees the event as positive, one in which Obama made an error and then worked to make it right. She also sees it as the result of pressure brought by the activism of the LBGT community.

It is nonetheless an important acknowledgment by President-elect Obama that he made a mistake and is attempting to make amends. More than that, it is a recognition of the power of the LGBT community to make change. President-elect Obama isn’t perfect, but he’s learning. I still have hope.

However, there are the usual smatterings of extremist conservative bloggers who have vulgar things to say about Bishop Robinson, to whom I won't bother to give air-time, except to acknowledge that they are still out there.

In the religious media, Steve Waldeman, Editor in Chief for Beliefnet, says:In any event, it sure seems that they've countered the selection of someone who infuriates the left with someone who infuriates the right. Balance, yes. Harmony, not so much.

Is Robinson a counter to Warren? Is that appropriate at this point? Was that enough? Does the selection of Warren dilute the selection of Robinson? Is Robinson the best choice?

Pam says: Too bad he's not replacing Rick Warren on January 20.

But not only is the choice of Robinson scrutinized on the grounds of sexual preference, apparently some bloggers and columnists question his denominational suitability.Steve Waldemanof Beliefnet again goes on to say (and echo a few comments I found by others):

Now that Protestants make up only 50% of the population they get 100% of the inaugural speakers. Politically, this is particularly odd given the importance of the Catholic vote to Obama..I suspect the Obama folks got so tangled up in the culture war politics -- balancing on gay rights, gender and race issues -- that they forgot, or downplayed, old fashioned religious base-covering..Religious politics grows ever more complicated with each year, doesn't it?

To complicate matters further, an "un-named official" of the Obama camp claimed that Obama had this in mind the whole time, and that it was not a counter to the Warren selection. Huh?

However, Queerty.com in their editorial asks:

Are we to believe that Mr. Political Strategy decided to hold off on the announcement for three weeks while he suffered blistering criticism (from us, among many others) for being completely tone deaf to the needs of the LGBT community? Are we to believe that Bishop Robinson's criticism of Warren's inclusion in the event was done while all along, he knew he was going to be invited..That unnamed official is a moron. But does the inclusion of Bishop Gene Robinson make things all better?.The answer is a qualified "Yes".

So, in some places, Obama gets tentative yet good reviews for listening and for making the right decision, even if he made it later in the game than he might have. Even Robinson is cutting Obama some slack for the decision. Robinson did consult with Obama at several points during the campaign about GLBT issues, so he feels a connection, however nascent, with him.

In commenting about this, The Hostess at the Outskirts says:

Robinson said last month the choice of Warren was like a slap in the face. In an interview with the Concord Monitor, he said he doesn’t believe Obama invited him in response to the Warren criticism but said his inclusion won’t go unnoticed by the gay and lesbian community.“It’s important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way,” Robinson told the newspaper for a story in Monday’s editions. “Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters.”

Min the Gap posed this comment:

He wasn’t going to win this one, and the scary part for those of us keeping score at home is that this is a sign for things to come. When you build your coalition of government from so many divergent groups of people—with so many of them believing you think the same as them—you’re bound to ruffle lots of feathers and cause a lot of disappointment when they see what really happens.

And, as the days pass, my prediction is that we will also see some hubbub about Bishop Robinson's statement that he is not going to quote the Christian Bible or make his prayer overtly Christian. Some folks will like that and others will blow their tops.

It makes me sad that praying is an issue...who prays...how they pray. But it is an issue. The symbols of an administration like this speak to the world. Whom Obama selects says a great deal about who he is. And the world is watching closely. My prayer is that his need to step carefully does not prevent him from walking boldly. His latest choice seems to point to answered prayer.

What do you think of the selection of Warren and/or Robinson? Do you think Invocations belong at inaugurations? Speak your mind, please!