A Pilgrim's Way: **

In January 1995, a small group of Episcopalian bishops brought charges against Walter C. Righter, an assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, N.J. Bishop Righter had ordained into the priesthood a qualified gay man who was in a long-term monogamous relationship with another gay man. This was not the first time such an ordination had taken place, but Righter's opponents chose this ordination to draw a line in the sand. Here Righter tells his side of the story in prose that is both personal and captivating. ""Here were people who had been faithful to the church's purpose all of their lives. Here were people who looked to the church to provide moral leadership, to open the doors to health, wholeness, and healing. And yet the church was resisting."" The Righter case drew national attention not only to Righter himself but also, more importantly, to the practices and beliefs of the Episcopal church. Righter narrates the attempt to bring this incident to trial, and he discusses the implications of this event for the future of the Episcopal church in the United States. Finally, the Righter case called into question the means by which the Episcopal church determines orthodoxy. Righter's book offers a riveting account of the church's attempt to hold a modern-day heresy trial. (June)