Last night, my Synagogue did something very unusual; we had an Episcopalian Priest give a guest sermon during our Friday night service.

I was very skeptical; in fact I wasn’t sure if I thought it was appropriate for a Christian to speak from the bimah, but after listening to the talk, I was glad I had the opportunity to hear it.

The Reverend Terry Gleeson, rector of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Palo Alto began by saying that there is an increasing number of people who are hostile to the idea of religion. Then he told his own story about how he was an ordained Catholic Priest in Australia, and moved to the Episcopal church where he married a man, his partner Dennis, and adopted a baby while working in a Philadelphia church. He, his partner Dennis, and his baby are all of different races. And when visiting some Churches they are met with hostility, including being shunned from open communion.

But he hasn’t lost faith, he’s found a home in Northern California, and he’s opening minds a little at a time. He described the experience of fatherhood with his daughter and partner and closed with Isaiah 11:6.