Vicar of St. George's Testifies at Episcopal Convention

The Rev. Michael W. Hopkins, vicar of St. George's Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale, spent two weeks of July in Philadelphia taking part in the Episcopal Church's General Convention. Father Hopkins, who is on sabbatical from St. George's until August 15, attended the triennial convention in his capacity as national director of communications for the Episcopal Church's gay and lesbian organization, Integrity.

On July 17, he testified at a hearing of a committee which was considering whether the church should authorize rites to bless same-sex relationships. Father Hopkins supported the proposal, telling the committee that his church has grown during the time it has been holding local celebrations of same-sex relationships. "After five years, St. George's has doubled its size," he said, according to United Voice, an Episcopal newspaper. "This growth has not been solely in gay and lesbian people, but has been 80 percent heterosexual." Father Hopkins's partner, John Clinton Bradley of Greenbelt, also testified in favor of the rites.