Posted Wednesday to Southeast Florida Episcopal Bishop Leo Frade’s blog (via Steve Rothaus)

For a long time in the life of the Episcopal Church we have been dealing with the realities of human sexuality. We have wrestled with who’s in and who’s out, who can be ordained and who can’t, which relationships are to be blessed and which are not.

With the passage of Resolution C056 at the 76th General Convention in July, we opened the door a little bit to permit our clergy to respond pastorally to same-sex couples who have been legally married in jurisdictions where such civil marriages are permitted.

Accordingly, I intend to authorize the clergy of this diocese to bless the unions of same-sex couples who have been legally married in states or countries where this is possible. This authorization will not apply to civil unions, domestic partnerships or any other legally recognized status other than marriage; this is no more nor less than we do for heterosexual couples who wish to have their unions blessed by the Church—they must be married.

I would emphasize two points: First, our General Convention did not authorize Episcopal clergy to perform same-sex marriages, and consequently, I am not authorizing any clergy to perform same-sex marriage in this diocese; and second, no priest in this diocese is ever under any obligation to perform any marriage he or she feels is inappropriate.

I have appointed a representative committee of diocesan clergy, chaired by Dean Douglas McCaleb of Trinity Cathedral, to develop some liturgical guidelines for proposed same-sex blessing services. I anticipate that these guidelines will be ready in four to six weeks for any clergy who request them.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at bishopfrade@aol.com.

But she may have to give up the bayside sanctuary, where sunlight filters through watery blue stained-glass windows and glints off the flawless copper pipes of an organ purchased with parishioners’ tithes.

Kear is among theologically conservative breakaway Episcopalians fighting over parish property in a long-running rift over how churchgoers should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships and many other issues.

St. James Anglican, in the Diocese of Los Angeles, is one of several dozen individual parishes and four dioceses nationwide that voted to split from the national church after the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire.

“It’s not just about the building, it’s about the church,” said Kear, 70, who participates in group prayers for the property even while she says the congregation could continue without it.

The congregation may have to do just that. State courts have sided with the Los Angeles diocese throughout the five-year legal case, most recently in January. St. James has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes that it might take up what has so far been a losing battle. St. James expects to know next month whether the nation’s highest court will take the case.

Two other seceding parishes – All Saints Church in Long Beach and St. David’s Church in North Hollywood – are parties in the lawsuit. A high court decision could also affect the Fresno-based Diocese of San Joaquin, one of the dioceses that voted to split off and is now involved in a complex property dispute with the national church.

Both sides make similar claims to the individual properties beyond their legal positions. Each has strong emotional and spiritual ties to the parishes, and views its interpretation of Scripture as the right one. Traditional Episcopalians believe that the Bible bars gay relationships; liberal Episcopalians emphasize social justice teachings of Scripture.

The Episcopal Church has argued that its rules bar anyone from walking away with denomination property, which often includes large endowments and land worth millions of dollars. Theological conservatives who want to separate say they have spent years, even decades, spending money to maintain and improve the buildings.

The 2-million-member denomination also includes many parishioners who disagree on the issues, but don’t see the rift as a reason to leave. Los Angeles Bishop Jon Bruno issued a letter to the diocese’s parishioners urging reconciliation.

“The Episcopal Church continues its long tradition of welcoming among its members a diversity of opinion, including loyal dissent. Our church remains a large tent expansive enough to include many views and voices while united in common prayer,” he wrote. “I ask each of us to keep working for reconciliation and renewal within this diocese.”

But reconciliation is a long shot.

Committing to leave the Episcopal Church five years ago and risking litigation was a somber decision for the St. James parish, especially because ties to the buildings run deep.

Kear remembers an expansion project about eight years ago when parishioners wrote prayers on scraps of paper and set them in the cement of the new sanctuary’s foundation.

There was “really a feeling (we were) building the new building,” Kear said.

Chad Sutton, a member of St. James’ lay leadership committee, said it’s particularly painful to hand the property to leaders with such different theological views.

“The prayers that have gone on at that altar – it almost gives you goosebumps,” Sutton said. “The saints that have gone before us and surrendered their lives, confessed their sins there – that has some significance.”

St. James has aligned with the Anglican Church of North America, a network of seceding Episcopal parishes and other congregations that was formed by theological conservatives as a rival to the Episcopal Church. At recent Sunday services in Newport Beach, parishioners voiced prayers for “our legal situation.”

Beyond awaiting word from the U.S. Supreme Court, there is no timeline for when the separationist parishes might hand over the grounds.

Sutton hopes, at least, it can wait a few months.

He and his wife are expecting a baby, and he said he knows exactly where they would like to have the child christened.

Leaders of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican province in the United States, insisted they were still committed to membership in the Anglican Communion. Some Anglican leaders, however, predicted the vote would break their fellowship.

The Episcopal General Convention, meeting in Anaheim, Calif., gave final approval to the measure during their once-every-three-years legislative assembly, which runs through Friday.

“God has called and may call” gays in committed relationships to “any ordained ministry” in the church, the resolution says.

Lay people voted 78-21 and clergy voted 77-19 to approve the measure. The House of Bishops had earlier voted 99-45 to adopt the statement. In the debates, delegates said they worried about the reaction of other Anglicans, but felt a duty to vote yes.

“I personally believe we had to do this,” said John Cheek, a delegate from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, based in Springfield. “It’s the way we see the Gospel.”

Episcopalians caused an uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Since then, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has struggled to prevent a permanent Anglican split.

Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province to the Episcopal Church called the Anglican Church in North America.

The new body includes four seceding Episcopal dioceses and is supported by several overseas Anglican leaders who have broken ties with the Episcopal Church.

The 77 million-member communion is the third-largest grouping of churches worldwide, behind Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches.

Williams attended the convention in its opening days last week, telling delegates, “I hope and pray that there won’t be decisions in the coming days that could push us further apart.”

To ease tensions with overseas Anglicans, the Episcopal General Convention three years ago passed a resolution that urged restraint by dioceses considering gay candidates for bishop.

The latest statement is widely viewed by advocates for gay clergy, theological conservatives and others in the Anglican world as repealing that pledge.

The Episcopal gay advocacy group Integrity said in a statement that the declaration “effectively ends” the temporary prohibition on gay bishops. Robinson, in a post on his diocesan blog, acknowledged the risk the bishops’ took in adopting the measure.

“No doubt, they will pay a price for opening their hearts, much as gay and lesbian people in this church have paid a price for their exclusion,” Robinson wrote. “I applaud them for their courage and will stand with them in the consequences of their vote.”

The few traditional Episcopalians who attended the convention said they were there to express the conservative view, but had largely resigned themselves to the liberal direction of the denomination, which has about 2.3 million members.

“If you think you’re going to convince the Episcopal Church, you’re smoking something funny,” said Bishop Peter Beckwith, a theological conservative from the Diocese of Springfield, Ill. “That’s unrealistic, but we’re still called to be faithful.”

Episcopalians and Anglicans have been debating for decades how to interpret the Bible on issues from salvation to homosexuality. Traditionalists believe Scripture bans same-gender relationships, while liberals emphasize the Bible’s social justice teachings on tolerance.

Church of England Bishop N.T. Wright, a prominent Anglican scholar, wrote in an op-ed in The Times of London, that this week’s vote “marks a clear break with the rest of the Anglican Communion” and formalizes the Anglican schism.

When Williams learned that the latest statement was heading toward approval, he told British reporters that he “regrets” the move.

An Anglican advisory panel also raised deep concerns about a North American province sought by theological conservatives to rival the Episcopal Church.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, will arrange professional mediation for all leaders involved in the North American conflict, leaders said.

“If a way forward is to be found and mutual trust to be re-established, it is imperative that further aggravation and acts which cause offense, misunderstanding or hostility cease,” the Anglican leaders said Thursday.

The statements were released as the Anglican archbishops, or primates, ended a five-day private meeting in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.

The 77 million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the Episcopal Church – the Anglican body in the U.S. – consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Robinson’s election intensified a long-running debate over what Anglicans should believe about salvation, sexuality and other issues.

Anglican leaders requested the moratoria in 2004, in a document known as the Windsor Report, and have been meeting regularly ever since to avoid a permanent break. Williams formed a six-member committee to advise him on how the communion can move forward. The group presented their recommendations at the Alexandria gathering.

The report painted a largely grim picture of the state of the fellowship, saying “positions and arguments are becoming more extreme” and rivals are engaging in “fear-mongering, deliberate distortion and demonizing.”

Four conservative U.S. dioceses and dozens of individual Episcopal parishes have voted to leave the national denomination since 2003. Many have affiliated with like-minded overseas Anglican leaders. The Anglican Church of Nigeria started a Convocation of Anglicans in North America, including breakaway Episcopal churches in Virginia.

The Anglican advisory panel said such overseas interventions in U.S. territory should stop and they urged an end to lawsuits over who gets to keep Episcopal property.

Of the North American province, the panel said it “foresees formidable problems in the way ahead,” saying it could become a “haven for discontented groups” and formalize a schism.

The top governing body of the Episcopal Church, the General Convention, will take up the moratoria at its July meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Several Episcopal dioceses have been developing prayers to bless same-sex couples despite the requested ban.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the service, including the President-elect.

“It will be an enormous honor to offer prayers for the country and the new president, standing on the holy ground where the ‘I have a dream speech’ was delivered by Dr. King, surrounded by the inspiring and reconciling words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,” Robinson wrote in a weekend e-mail to supporters.

“I am humbled and overjoyed at this invitation, and it will be my great honor to be there representing the Episcopal Church, the people of New Hampshire, and all of us in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community,” he said in the e-mail.

The announcement by the inaugural committee was one of two involving liberal religious leaders tapped by the committee. The Rev. Sharon Watkins, leader of the small Protestant denomination The Disciples of Christ, has been chosen to deliver the sermon at the National Prayer Service.

The election of Robinson as bishop in 2003 led to deep divisions within the worldwide Anglican Church and resulted in a number of parishes leaving the Episcopal umbrella while remaining Anglican.

Robinson has been a strong supporter of Obama and was vocal about his anger over the naming of Rev Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration on January 20 at the Capitol.

Warren, the pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Southern California, ignited the ire of many liberals when he publicly supported California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to ban gay marriage.

“The president-elect has respect for the Rt. Rev. Robinson, who offered his advice and counsel over the past couple of years,” an inaugural official told The Politico Web site. “It also has the benefit of further reinforcing our commitment to an open and inclusive inaugural.”

The official also said that the selections of Robinson and Watkins were made before the furor over Warren erupted.

Watkins is the first woman leader of The Disciples of Christ and the first woman to give the sermon at the traditional event, to be held Jan. 21 at the National Cathedral.

The service will include prayers, readings and hymns delivered by religious leaders of a variety of faiths.

The Disciples of Christ has about 850,000 members in the United States and Canada.

It says its work is “influenced by its founding ideals of our unity in Christ with openness and diversity in practice and belief.”

Most of the denomination’s churches are LGBT welcoming, although some, particularly in the South, are not. As congregationalists, each church is free to set its own policies.

Because of the divisions over sexuality, the Disciples of Christ has not taken a position on same-sex marriage. Watkins in an interview with The New York Times said she also has not made up her mind on the issue.

President-elect Obama has said he is not in favor of gay marriage but supports civil unions for same-sex couples and the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

In 1997 at its annual convention, the Disciples of Christ urged the enactment of “legislation on local, state and national levels which will end the denial of civil rights and the violation of civil liberties for reasons of sexual orientation.”

The resolution specifically recognized that “the church, among other elements of society, has contributed to the persecution and suffering of homosexuals, and it is its culpability in this regard which provides one reason for seeking a more enlightened understanding.”

The final rulings came from a Fairfax County judge who said the departing congregations are allowed under Virginia law to keep their church buildings and other property as they leave the Episcopal Church and realign under the authority of conservative Anglican bishops from Africa.

Several previous rulings had also gone in favor of the departing congregations. The diocese said it will appeal.

Eleven Virginia congregations were involved in the lawsuit, including two prominent congregations that trace their histories to George Washington – Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church.

The congregations voted to realign in late 2006. Since then, the rift in the Episcopal Church has grown, and entire dioceses have voted to leave the denomination. Similar property disputes are expected there as well.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia argued it was the true owner of the church property and that the congregations’ votes to leave the Episcopal Church were invalid.

The case was decided under a Civil War-era law unique to Virginia, which stated that when a division occurs within a particular denomination, a congregation can vote to decide with which branch it wishes to affiliate.

In earlier rulings, Circuit Judge Randy Bellows declared that a division had indeed occurred within the Episcopal Church, and that Virginia’s law was constitutional.

It was widely anticipated that the departing congregations would prevail after those preliminary rulings were issued; Friday’s rulings dealt largely with technical questions related to property deeds and the like.

The Episcopal Diocese contends that Virginia’s law is unconstitutional because it requires a judge to wade into theological issues and thus violates First Amendment protections guaranteeing freedom of religion.

“Within the Episcopal Church, we may have theological disagreements, but those disagreements are ours to resolve according to the rules of our own governance,” said the Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, Episcopal bishop of Virginia.

Whether the decision in the Virginia case is indicative of what will happen nationally is doubtful. Even leaders in the departing congregations acknowledge that the judge’s rulings turned on interpretation of a statute unique to Virginia.

Valerie Munson, assistant director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, said property disputes tend to be fact-specific and state laws governing them vary greatly.

Still, she said lawyers will look closely at Bellows’ various rulings for specific points that might be persuasive in cases across the country.

Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, an organization formed by the departing congregations said he thinks the ruling will be “encouraging to other orthodox congregations across the country.”

The 2003 ordination by the Episcopal Church of an openly gay bishop set off a wide-ranging debate within the church, with conservative congregations saying that the church had abandoned traditional teachings not just on homosexuality but other key theological issues.

The Episcopal Church, with about 2.1 million members in the U.S., is the American body of the Anglican Communion, with about 77 million members worldwide.

(Riverside, California) The feud between liberals and conservatives within the worldwide Anglican Church has grown wider with the decision by the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese to call for the lifting of a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops.

Bishop J. Jon Bruno also told clergy in the diocese they could bless same-sex unions.

The 77-million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the U.S. Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

In 2006 at the urging of the titular head of the denomination, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Anglicans imposed a moratorium on elevating other gays to become bishops.

The Episcopal Church, the American branch of Anglicanism, signed onto the agreement as conservative parishes began leaving.

Last month the theologically conservative Diocese of Fort Worth voted to split from the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church, becoming the fourth whole diocese to leave the denomination. Last week the four dioceses and a handful of breakaway parishes founded the Anglican Church in North America – a move designed to remain within the Anglican communion but focus on conservative beliefs.

As the feud grew, LGBT Anglicans have said they were being marginalized.

On the weekend, the Los Angeles Diocese at its annual meeting overwhelmingly voted to call for the lifting of the moratorium.

The resolution stated that the moratorium violates church canons, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The Rev. J. Edwin Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena called the moratorium “blatantly discriminatory.”

“It tells a lie about God’s love – radically inclusive love – for everyone.”

All Saints has a history of social activism.  Bacon told the synod that he recalled as a child that a pastor told his congregation that racial segregation was God’s will. Bacon said that in the same way some Episcopalians today use the Bible to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

The weekend vote means the issue will be brought before the Episcopal Church national convention in July.

The new Anglican Church in North America will include four Episcopal dioceses that recently split from the U.S. church, along with breakaway Anglican parishes from Canada.

The announcement Wednesday in Wheaton, Illinois, comes after decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe about issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. Tensions erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop.

The world Anglican Communion is a fellowship of churches with roots in the Church of England. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the United States. But the new North American church says it represents true Anglican beliefs.

About 80 percent of clergy and parishioners in the Texas diocese supported the break in a series of votes at a diocesan convention.

The Steering Committee North Texas Episcopalians, an umbrella group for those who want to stay with the denomination, plans to reorganize the diocese. They promised that “the Episcopal Church’s work of Christian ministry and evangelization will go forward” in the region.

A lengthy, expensive legal battle is expected over who owns Episcopal property and funds. The Fort Worth diocese oversees more than 50 parishes and missions serving about 19,000 people. The Steering Committee estimates that at least five parishes and hundreds of other churchgoers will remain with the New York-based national church.

The other seceding dioceses are Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., where a legal fight over assets is already under way. National church leaders are helping local parishioners reorganize each diocese.

All four withdrawing dioceses are aligning with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, to try to keep their place in the world Anglican Communion.

The vote is the latest fallout from the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

The 77-million-member Anglican fellowship, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church, has roots in the missionary work of the Church of England. Most overseas Anglicans hold traditional views of the Bible and Robinson’s consecration has moved the global communion toward the brink of schism. Breakaway U.S. leaders hope to form an Anglican province in North America.

Years before Robinson’s election, Episcopalians and Anglicans were already divided over how they should interpret Scripture on issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. That rift broke wide open when the New Hampshire bishop was installed.

“Some have encouraged us to stay and fight as the faithful remnant in (the denomination), to work for reform from within,” Bishop Jack Iker said in his speech before the balloting.

“I can only reply by quoting the saying that `the definition of insanity is to keep on doing the same thing, expecting different results,’” he said. “The time has come to choose a new path and direction, to secure a spiritual future for our children and our grandchildren.”

Of the four withdrawing dioceses, only Pittsburgh ordains women. In 2006, the Episcopal Church elected its first female leader, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

Nationally, most of the 2.1 million Episcopalians don’t consider their theological differences cause to leave the denomination, which has more than 100 dioceses. Outside the four that are splitting off, church officials estimate that about 100 additional parishes of a total of more than 7,000 have withdrawn on their own.

However, the secessions have a large cost to the national church, not only in legal expenses and lost donations from the dioceses, but also in damage to the Episcopal public image as the U.S. church struggles to keep its place in the global Anglican family.

The Diocese of Quincy, Ill., took the vote at its annual meeting that ends Saturday.

Two other dioceses – San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., and Pittsburgh – have already split off. Next weekend, the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, will vote whether to follow suit.

The three breakaway dioceses are aligning with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, to try to keep their place in the world Anglican Communion. The 77-million-member Anglican fellowship, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church, has roots in the missionary work of the Church of England.

Meanwhile, National Episcopal leaders are reorganizing the seceding dioceses with local parishioners who want to stay in the church. Complex legal fights have already started in San Joaquin over control of millions of dollars in diocesan property and assets.

The head of the New York-based denomination, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, said in a statement Saturday: “We lament the departure” in Quincy.

The Quincy diocese, based in Peoria, has 24 churches and missions, and about 1,800 members.

The Rev. John Spencer, a diocesan spokesman, said local leaders would comment after the convention concludes. Clergy and lay delegates at the Quincy meeting approved withdrawal on a 95 to 26 vote.

Episcopalians and their fellow Anglicans have been debating for decades over how they should interpret what Scripture says on issues ranging from salvation to sexuality.

Tensions erupted in 2003 when the denomination consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, pushing the Anglican family toward the brink of schism. The majority of overseas Anglicans hold traditional views of Scripture and believe the Bible bars gay relationships. Many have pushed for the ouster of the Episcopal Church from the communion.

Within the U.S. church, the outlook is different. Most of the 2.2 million Episcopalians don’t consider their theological differences cause to leave the denomination.

Still, several Episcopal conservative leaders have concluded they could no longer remain and have begun building direct links with sympathetic Anglicans in other countries.

The Anglican Church of Nigeria has formed a Virginia-based network of Episcopal breakaway parishes, called the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Some individual Episcopal parishes have separately aligned with Anglican provinces in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Bishop Robert Duncan, head of the breakaway Diocese of Pittsburgh, is among leaders trying to form a North American province for Episcopal traditionalists that would rival the U.S. church.