Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson

by Elizabeth Adams

A sharecropper’s son, Gene Robinson rose to become an Episcopal priest and later, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Church. His election set off a worldwide firestorm of reaction, both positive and negative. Based on extensive interviews with Bishop Robinson and the people around him, Going to Heaven paints a portrait of the man who is, as he puts it, “neither the angel nor the devil some would make me out to be.” The book illuminates his early life; his struggle with his sexual orientation; his calling into the church; and finally, the tumultuous events surrounding his election and consecration. Gene Robinson’s life is a compelling story of challenges overcome by hard work, humor, and deep faith, but it is also a story of one man’s journey into his own “otherness” and the emergence of a ministry that speaks to countless people who believe in a Gospel of love and inclusion.

Genres: Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2006

About the author

Elizabeth (Beth) Adams is a writer, artist, publisher, and editor. She is the founder of Phoenicia Publishing, an independent press, and the former co-managing editor of qarrtsiluni online literary magazine. Her latest book, Snowy Fields, pairs her charcoal landscape drawings with her writing about place, loss, and change. Losing Touch by Magda Kapa (Phoenicia, 2021), Dave Bonta's Ice Mountain: An Elegy (Phoenicia, 2017; and Annunciation (Phoenicia, 2015) are all books which she edited, designed, and illustrated. She is the author of Going to Heaven, (Soft Skull Press, Brooklyn, 2006) the story of Bishop Gene Robinson and the debate over ordinations of gays and lesbians; numerous essays on religion and spirtuality; and the editor and designer of numerous books. She has been writing a blog, The Cassandra Pages, since March, 2003. Beth grew up in the rural northeastern U.S., has a degree in classics from Cornell, lived in Vermont for thirty years, and currently resides in Montreal with her husband, photographer Jonathan Sa'adah. She is a member of PEN Canada and the Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec.

Reviews

[Richard]

It may be a uniquely American success story: not long ago, who would have thought that the son of tobacco sharecroppers in Kentucky could become an Episcopal bishop? No one could have predicted that this boy, born poor, ill, and given little chance of survival, would in fact be elected and ordained 56 years later as the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Church, finding himself at the center of unprecedented positive and negative reaction in the religious world and beyond.
Gene Robinson's life is a compelling story of challenges overcome by hard work, intelligence, humor, love, and deep faith. It is also a story of one man's journey into his own "otherness"; of courage found and integrity retained; and the emergence of a ministry that speaks to countless people who believe in a Gospel of love and inclusion, and want the church to reflect that vision.
Through a lively text based on extensive interviews with Bishop Robinson, his closest associates, family, colleagues, and observers, and illustrated with photographs from all phases of his life, this book paints a portrait of Bishop Robinson not as a symbol but a human being who is, as he puts it, "neither the angel nor the devil some would make me out to be." It illuminates his life; his struggle with - and eventual acceptance of - his sexual orientation; his calling to become a priest and later a bishop. It tells the story of the critical, central events of his election and consecration amid intense opposition, huge security concerns, and media attention. The book follows him through the next two years as he juggles dual roles - Bishop of New Hampshire, and symbol of gay achievement and the progressive church - while the opposition stirred by his election creates increasing pressure for schism in the Episcopal Church of the United States and the Anglican Communion at large. The book concludes with a discussion of the deep theological and historical significance of Gene Robinson's election and personal vision for the future, and what this means both for individuals and for a Church seeking to be relevant in a post-modern world.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read, then donated to an Episcopal church library.

[Pavarti Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent read. Dry for my tastes but worth the time