When the Rev. Harold T. Lewis became rector of the mostly white and wealthy Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside in 1996, the city was reeling from racial turmoil, and Father Lewis, who is African-American, was expected to be a leader in addressing social injustice.
But circumstances have led him to retire as a renowned advocate for Episcopal canon law.
Five years before the 2008 schism in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, he filed a lawsuit to stop anyone from taking property out of the Episcopal Church.
"If you had asked me when I was ordained ... if I would ever sue my bishop, I would have said you were crazy," said Father Lewis, 65, who retired Sunday.
Read it all:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/lifestyle/rector-of-calvary-episcopal-in-pittsburgh-retires-663640/#ixzz2DKvIOfgw
Ann Rodgers is an experienced religious writer. Even granting that she is writing for a liberal paper, this article is a bit over the top as a puff piece for Lewis. Of those interviewed, where were the Anglicans? George Werner is hardly an unbiased observer. Harold Lewis has spoken frequently about racism but it is he who is often the racist. He is not shy about playing the race card. Despite an elite education, he habitually plays the victim. His personal circumstances do not speak to the victimology he professes. His initiation of the lawsuit against Bishop Duncan and the true Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh was nowhere near as altruistic as presented in the article. It was vindictive, mean spirited and very much contrary to Christian behavior. There are many who are not sorry in the least to see him go.
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