Moment male Episcopal bishop rips female reverend’s collar off for VERY un-Christian reason as she spoke at LGBT-friendly ceremony MC’d by a drag queen

A prominent Episcopal bishop ripped off the collar of a female cleric after she momentarily forgot her words during an LGBT-friendly Easter vigil celebrated by a drag queen.

A video captured the breathtaking moment when Bishop Alan M. Gates snatched the collar from the Rev. Tamra Tucker’s neck during the service at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston on March 30.

In the footage, Rev. Tucker, the leader of The Crossing, an LGBTQ-inclusive congregation, explained to attendees that they will now “communicate” with each other.

“It’s very simple,” the pastor said as she began presenting the ceremony to the audience, which included several congregations and other Protestant denominations.

“We’re going to have someone take their own piece of bread, and you say this to the person taking the bread.”

At this point in the video, Rev. Tucker apparently forgot the words for the ceremony.

She looked at the bishop, then turned to the crowd and said with her palms up, “Wait, what’s wrong? I’ve been away for a while.’

Then she seemed to remember the words and said with visible relief, “The body of Christ.”

The reverend smiled and the people standing behind her on the stage laughed.

‘It’s very simple. The body of Christ, that’s all you have to do,” Rev. Tucker said.

Presently Bishop Gates, who had smiled good-naturedly at her brief blunder, rushed over and pulled the priest’s collar from her neck.

People initially laughed loudly at the surprise gesture. A woman at the end of the stage stared open-mouthed, and the drag queen clapped.

Rev. Tucker seemed irritated, and Bishop Gates, realizing he had crossed a line, gave her the collar back.

“Just kidding,” said the bishop.

“Thank you,” the pastor said as the bishop put his arm around her apologetically.

But the church was quiet and the other people on stage seemed uncomfortable.

“Damn,” Pastor Tucker said, stunned by what had just happened.

After the incident, the pastor continued with the ceremony, but her shock seemed to linger.

Bishop Gates’ action, which was playful in nature, angered members of the faith.

Rev. Rita Powell, chaplain of the Harvard Episcopal Community, shared Boston sphere“It was just very sad that an event that was supposed to be joyful had to be marked by the specter of longstanding misogyny, which is quite essential to Christianity, even in a church that feels like it’s already moved past that.”

Bishop Gates, the highest-ranking official in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, issued a formal apology on April 12, nearly two weeks after the incident occurred. Since 2014, he has led the diocese, which has 180 congregations.

Bishop Gates called his action “a moment of completely misplaced mischief.”

The repentant bishop noted that Rev. Tucker “had a moment—known to every worship leader—where she left out the following line.”

Bishop Gates said removing her office was “a devastating and humiliating act, which I deeply regret.”

The spiritual leader called Rev. Tucker “a valued colleague and fine priest whose leadership I was honored to affirm.”

He further stated that it “was not and never would be his intention” to humiliate the pastor.

‘By my action I abused my authority, failed to grant episcopal grace and exceeded personal space and boundaries. I’m so sorry.’

Pastor Tucker has not yet spoken publicly about the incident and it is unclear whether or not she has accepted his apology.

Tracy J. Sukraw, a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, said the bishop was contrite and had contacted the reverend “to express his regret and attempt to make amends.”

“It took place in the light-hearted context of a non-traditional service, but it was thoughtless, and no one considers it a good thing to have done this, including Bishop Gates,” Sukraw said.

“It is his sincere desire to apologize and make reparations, and that is what he is working on now.

The respected Rita Powell agreed that Bishop Gates did not intend to humiliate Rev. Tucker, but that the circumstances of his action made it “an act of symbolic violence.”

The day after the incident, the Rev. Jay Williams, the lead pastor of Union Combined Parish, where Rev. Tucker’s wife is executive pastor, condemned Bishop Gates’ actions.

Reverend Williams said the incident was an example of “violent patriarchy and sexism”.

The reverend accused Gates of having “literally stripped the reverend of her clergy collar in public.”

“The male bishop tried to say it was a joke and apologize publicly, but it is not a joke when a man publicly violates a woman’s personal space and symbolically deprives her of the sign of ordination,” the reverend fulminated.

The Rev. Karen Coleman, speaking on behalf of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Massachusetts, publicly defended the embattled bishop, calling him “a conscientious and compassionate pastor and colleague.”

Rev. Coleman stated that Bishop Gates “has been a consistent supporter and ally of Rev. Tamra Tucker, The Crossing congregation she pastors, and groups on the margins.”

In his apology, Bishop Gates said, “I extend my regrets and apologies to Rev. Tamra Tucker; to the Crossing community; to the cathedral community; to other communities present; to ecumenical companions who had joined the vigil; and to those in the wider church and community whom I have hurt.”

“In our baptismal covenant we promise to ‘respect the dignity of every person.’ I seek forgiveness for my inability to keep this promise, and the grace of God to renew that promise.”