Episcopal bishop lending support to same-sex marriage
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By DANIEL BARLOW VERMONT PRESS BUREAU - Published: July 9, 2009
MONTPELIER – Vermont's Episcopal bishop will push for greater recognition of same-sex marriages as officials from the church meet for a major conference in California this week.
The Right Rev. Thomas C. Ely, the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Vermont, is one of six bishops from states recognizing same-sex marriage to offer a resolution urging the church to allow them to extend a key marriage ritual to gay and lesbian couples.
The resolution will be introduced and debated at the Episcopal Church's General Convention beginning today in Anaheim, Calif., an event held every three years and features hundreds of church leaders and members debating the future of their faith.
Ely, who testified in favor of Vermont's same-sex marriage law during legislative hearings this year, said he and the other supportive bishops hope the church will allow them to adapt a marriage prayer book to include same-sex married couples.
"Starting in September, how Vermont defines marriage will be a lot different than how the church defines marriage," Ely said during a telephone interview from California on Tuesday. "What we are seeking is some flexibility so that same-gender married couples can have their unions blessed."
Vermont lawmakers legalized same-sex marriage earlier this year and that law begins Sept. 1. Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Iowa and Connecticut also allow gays and lesbians to marry and Episcopal bishops from those states have endorsed the resolution, as well.
The Episcopal Church, which has more than 2 million members across the country, has long been more progressive than other churches on same-sex rights, including appointing the first openly gay bishop, New Hampshire's V. Gene Robinson.
Ely's resolution centers on the church's Book of Common Prayer, which contains three rites of marriage. But those texts specifically refer to the couple as male and female. Members of the church who support same-sex marriage say the rites are out of touch with new state laws and want them adapted to include gay and lesbian married couples.
"In all six states, faithful Episcopalians are asking that their church provide the pastoral support and blessing of the church for their marriages," reads an explanation attached to the resolution. "Clergy in those same states are caught between the authority given them by the state and the discipline of The Episcopal Church as it's currently described."
But the issue has still divided the membership, especially members from overseas who tend to be more conservative on the issue than Episcopalians from the United States. Some worry that further recognition of same-sex marriages within the church will broaden the divide.
That is not as true in Vermont as it may be elsewhere, according to Anne Clark Brown, the communications director for Vermont's Episcopal Church who also serves as one of the state's 10 delegates to the convention.
Vermont's delegation to the meeting includes several gay men and lesbian women, Brown said. That includes herself – she joined with her partner in a civil union soon after Vermont passed that law in 2000.
"It's not as controversial in Vermont," Brown said. "We've been living with it for nine years and everyone has seen that the sky has not fallen."
The Episcopal Church's General Convention is structured in a similar manner to a state legislature – it has a House of Bishops and a House of Deputies. Both bodies need to agree on a measure before it is passed. Both houses also have committees, where debate on measures and resolutions begin.
Same-sex marriage is far from the only topic being discussed at the General Convention, which begins today and ends July 17, according to Ely. He expects resolutions and measures to be debated and passed on everything from the finances of the church to how to best assist church members hurt by the poor economy.
"The resolution on same-sex marriage is getting a lot of attention," Ely said. "But there is a lot more going on here than just that."
daniel.barlow@timesargus.com
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