Episcopal bishops agree to bless same-sex weddings

7/17/09

From Staff and Wire Reports

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Progressives in the Episcopal Church were on the verge of claiming another victory late Wednesday as denomination leaders endorsed the creation of blessing liturgies for same-sex unions one day after they ended a de facto ban on the ordination of gay bishops.

The action by bishops at the church’s General Convention in Anaheim left conservatives with little to celebrate. They said the twin measures would further divide the 2.1 million member denomination and strain an already fragile relationship with the global Anglican Communion, of which the church is a branch.

The resolution passed overwhelmingly, with 104 bishops, including Maine’s Episcopal Bishop Stephen Lane, voting yes, 30 voting no and two abstaining after a failed attempt by some bishops to kill it. The measure still must be approved by clergy and laity in the church’s other legislative body, the House of Deputies, a step widely viewed as considered all but certain. The convention ends today.

Those who championed the blessings measure>>>