During a question and answer period, orthodox laity took the bishop to task for his liberal views and asked how could possibly minister in a diocese with an openly evangelical bishop like Howe. Said replied; "Howe knows where I stand, and how I voted."

(Said signed the pastoral statement to lesbians and gays from some bishops of the Lambeth Conference. He also voted for blessing of same-sex unions to be added to Book of Occasional Services (8th resolve to D039) and he voted to recognize and affirm fidelity in sexual relationships outside of marriage (D039).)

"Howe called me after he had approved of Alternative Primatial Oversight (APO) to find out where I stood and I said I wasn't interested, it was not my task. My concern is to grow the church," he told the audience.

Said did affirm that while he differed with Howe he supported him, and he said Howe had made him welcome in the diocese. (Said is the former bishop suffragan of Southeast Florida.)

Said sad the current tensions in the church were dissipating the energy of the church.

Asked why Jesus didn't address homosexuality, Said it wasn't an issue for Him, but he did say that there were some 31 reference in the scriptures to it.

"I've known gay people and gay couples."

Asked if he had ever blessed a same sex union, Said said, "no", but when asked would he do it he replied, "not in a public ceremony, because my bishop says not to do that."

Asked if he would do it privately in somebody's backyard, the bishop replied, "probably."

"I am not ashamed of where I stand. If you choose to declare that the scriptures say that it is a sin and therefore you can't do it, I think you get into all kinds of boxes. Then you must start from that basis and you must repent of it. But if you see homosexuals as a group of people being oppressed in society and not getting a fair shake you come out with a different set of answers. It is a moral issue against a justice background. It all depends on where you begin."

Speaking of the declining numbers in The Episcopal Church, Said said the parochial reports were awful. "I don't get hung up on numbers. I go by Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) on Sunday morning in a given church and ...I am here to help the church grow."

When asked what he thought was God's answer, the bishop said; "I don't know. Probably both/and. I think we get hung up on this stuff. I hope I am not simplifying it. The Anglican Church worldwide is not exactly like the Episcopal Church. American culture is violently different from what you find overseas," he said.

"We are all different. God doesn't say we all have to be the same. We have similarities...two eyes, two legs... but we are different, cultures are different."

"The Episcopal Church ordained women; we revised the Prayer Book and moved it into the vernacular. You need to get a hold of the New Zealand Prayer Book it is one of the most gorgeous prayer books you will ever read."

When asked what we should teach our children about the bible, Said said "you can proof text anything you want...murder, slavery...or you can read the book (Bible) as a library, for the story it tells you about the relationship between God and man."

When asked what APO meant for Central Florida, "nothing", he cried. "I don't know if you can stand that or not. It won't affect you. Lambeth isn't till 2008 and General Convention isn't till 2009. Episcopalians talk about things for a long time and talk a lot about things before we decide things. "We have talking about homosexuality for 30 years, women's ordination for 40 years. We talk a long time before we make a decision. On the last Prayer Book revision we went through the Green book, the Zebra book...God knows how many books we went through."

"The Anglican Communion is held together by an odd collection...loyalty to the ABC, by a Common Prayer Book, and it is held together by a belief that the Holy Scriptures contains all things necessary for salvation. It doesn't say what they are, just that it contains it."

The bishop urged his audience to engage in "dialogue" and "listening". "When we speak it is "holy conversation". This defined dialogue is when you speak your idea in your language and I listen and I speak your idea in my language and you recognize it as your idea. It doesn't mean we agree. If we are to have a holy conversation we both have to be willing to be changed by it."

"I cannot enter into the conversation with the intention of converting you to my way of thinking and or nothing else and not or it will degenerate into an argument in short order no questions asked and nothing will be accomplished."

If you are changed by it that brings about a conversion in the way we think and when we have been through that holy conversation and willingness to be changed by what we learn then we can have meaningful communion. We don't have to agree."

Said said he didn't always agree with the lord. "You can argue with the Lord, but what you can't do is ignore the lord."

He downplayed the decision by General Convention to include the approval of Gene Robinson a gay man as bishop and applauded the willingness of the national church to experiment with same sex unions. "Some (bishops) say the election of Schori has forced them to go around our own Presiding Bishop and seek representation with other primates. But no decisions have been made there is no mechanism set up to allow that."

Said there are two things to observe. "Whenever the church historically has had real dissension over something, we talk about it and because of it the church grows. Secondly, we all come out better theologians on the other side of the fracas with a deeper and more profound understanding of who we are and who God is, and I predict that this is what will happen this time."

"Human society has gay people in it, some of them become Episcopalians. The Church says the process is open to everybody. Women entered that process so did gays. Sooner or later one was ordained a deacon, priest and bishop and someone will elect a Presiding Bishop. And that's what happened."

Said acknowledged that a section of the church disagrees with that and wants representation by someone else. "The Episcopal Church says lets talk about it and we are talking about it."

On the subject of stewardship the bishop said, "I don't know the mind of God, and my concern is that I don't believe most of us do. One of the difficulties in determining the will of God is learning to ask the right questions. And God refuses to answer of lot of my petitions because I don't get the question right."

"God is a forgiving redeeming God and his primary concern is for the sanctification of people. He will do almost anything to make that happen. God is interested in the life of the redemption of a sinner."

The bishop said we had to work for consensus, "that's why the TEC talks for 40 years before it makes a decision, and if I don't like it, I can take my ministry and go home or I can join the Orthodox Church or some Anglican variety - there are some 87 varieties - or you can say that the will of God is in their somewhere."

Answering a question about his difference with Bishop John Howe, Said said that he had a responsibility to listen to who speaks. "I may not agree with John Howe, but I will support him, if he sees that as the best action I will support him."

END