HBO Keeps Bishop V. Gene Robinson's Prayer in the Closet

*sigh*

It was supposed to be the olive branch given to LGBT communities (and straight allies) over the high profile Inauguration participation of Rev. Rick Warren, the California pastor who urged his flock to vote for Proposition 8.  Instead, openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson's opening prayer at Sunday's kick-off ceremonies was (1) not televised by HBO at all, and (2) apparently not heard by most of the Inaugural crowd (the Bishop's mic wouldn't work).

And the LGBT blogging community has exploded.

Queerty: There's no easy way to say this: We were hoodwinked. Cynics will say, "Well, what did you expect?", but the answer is, "We expected more." The concert itself was inspiring, hopeful and a media event, but the exclusion of Robinson once again highlights the reality that gays and lesbians sit at the back of the American political bus.

Queers United: Openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson gave the invocation prayer at the kick-off for the inauguration. It is a historic moment for the LGBT community, one that many of us tuned in to see.  HBO aired all the actors, musicians, and comedians, but failed to air Bishop Robinson's prayer.  Demand to know why.

Joe.My.God: After days of controversy and outrage from the religious right, openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson opened Barack Obama's inauguration concert on the National Mall today with a request that the nation pray for "understanding that our president is a human being and not a messiah."  But only the people AT the concert heard that, because HBO did not televise Robinson's message. Who engineered this blackout of Robinson? I suspect we'll hear lots about this in days to come.

Pam's House Blend: Remember, this was the supposed salve on the wound to the LGBT community for the upcoming high-profile appearance of Rick Warren at the actual inauguration on Tuesday, which will be seen by millions and will float out there on YouTube in perpetuity. I had no illusions that Robinson's appearance would reach the same level of exposure as Warren's, but damn -- no broadcast of it at all?

And now let's give our take:

Gayrights.change.org: You know how on Election night, we were all kind of happy (no more Bush!) and sad (Proposition 8) at the same time?  Well, it's kind of like that again.  A new beginning, yes, but more of the same exclusion that really tarnishes what should have been a day full of optimism.

Oh, and we're pissed at HBO, too.  So if you'd like to write HBO and ask why they chose not to televise the opening prayer of Bishop Robinson, you can do so by clicking this link.  And after the jump, we'll include the full text of Bishop V. Gene Robinson's prayer.  Get it here, folks, because you won't find it on television screens near you.

A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama

(By Bishop V. Gene Robinson, courtesy of the New Hampshire Episcopal Church Web site.  Bold phrases below are part of the original text.)

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.