The Chronicle
November 15, 2011
The weekly student newspaper at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York
Professor Joseph Eppink Weds Longtime Partner By THERESA TAYLOR Staff Writer It was a moment that was eight years in the making. On Sept. 17, Saint Rose’s own Dr. Joseph Eppink, associate professor of music, was legally wed in holy matrimony to his longtime partner, Ralph Panelli, after New York’s Marriage Equality Act had been passed into law. The couple, who met online when Eppink was still living in Indiana, had lost touch. It wasn’t until Eppink was conducting a concert here and Panelli was in the audience that they were reunited. “We met each other, still didn’t know who [the other one] was,” said Eppink. It wasn’t until about a week later, when Eppink’s future husband called him in the middle of the night and said, “You’re Guy 38?” and Eppink said, “You’re Latin Lover 2000!” that they realized. “We’ve been together ever since,” said Eppink. “Eight years.” When asked when it was that he and his husband first realized that they had met “the one,” Eppink said, “I think we grew into that. At that time, our kids were small, and so we became a family…we started doing things together…and once I met the kids, it was a good connection, a good fit.” Eppink and his husband are the parents of three grown children, one boy and two girls. Eppink and Panelli first cemented their union with a commitment ceremony seven years ago. When asked how being able
to marry his life partner had been different, and what it meant to be able to legally marry as a same– sex couple, Eppink said, “It was amazing; our relationship… I don’t think it changed much, but I’m an organist, so for thirty years I’ve played weddings and never figured it’d be me, that I would be able to do this. To be able to walk up the aisle, to the music we selected… the blessings, the wedding ceremony was just an amazing thing.” In an interview that Eppink did with the Times Union this past summer, before his September wedding, he mentioned the outpouring of support he received from the parishioners at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, where he worships. The couple wanted to marry there, but Bishop William H. “Bill” Love of the Albany Diocese would not permit priests to marry same-sex couples. In an open letter on VirtueOnline, whose motto is ‘The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism,’ Love called homosexuals “loved by God,” while referring to samesex “marriage” in quotations. Quoting the Common Book of Prayer, which calls marriage “a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman in the presence of God,” Love said that the Diocese prepared in advance for the advent of a Marriage Equality Act, passing Canon Law 16.1 and 16.2 back in 2008, which prohibits priests from performing, blessing, or participating in same-sex marriage ceremonies. Story continued on Page A4
News
Saint Rose journalism students will host a community forum on the Pine Hills blog Nov 17. See Page A5 A recap of the Veterans Day ceremony held Friday in front of the EAC. See Page A6
Volume LXXX Issue 13
At Carrier Dome, Saint Rose Fights but Falls to Syracuse Orange For full story
see Page D20
Sophomore Kareem Thomas and junior Andre Pope defending Brandon Triche.
Arts & Opinion Sunshine Osella talks tragedy and comedy in new Anonymous. See Page B9 Irreligious and Uninvited: An athiest student’s thoughts on Saint Rose charity, faith, and the lack thereof. See Page C14
JUSTIN COLTON
Sports
Men’s and women’s cross country season ends at East Regionals in Boston. See Page D17 Women’s basketball defeats Concordia 5834 in season opener. See Pages D18 - D19