Episcopal Church Affirms Gay Clergy

Leaders at the Episcopal Church's tri-annual convention voted overwhemingly on Monday to pass a resolution that opens "any ordained ministry" to homosexuals. Biblically orthodox Anglicans, many of whom are part of the newly formed Anglican Church of North America, decried the move as heretical. For decades, there has been a movement to bring the Episcopal Church back to its Christian roots. However, since the Diocese of New Hampshire elected openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson in 2003, it appears the denomination has been determined to move further away from a traditional and clearly biblical position on Christian marriage — which has led to an exodus from the Episcopal Church and the formation of other bodies, such as the Anglican Church of North America, consisting of over 100,000 members in 7,000 churches. On Wednesday, the Episcopal bishops also authorized the church to start drafting an official prayer for same-sex couples, another step toward acceptance of gay relationships. [CitizenLink.com, The Associated Press]