Episcopal
parishes in Connecticut may bless same-sex couples, the
state's bishop announced over the weekend in Hartford.
Bishop Andrew Smith's decision does not create an
official prayer service for the blessings and does not
allow Episcopal clergy to officiate at civil unions. But it
allows parishes to acknowledge gay and lesbian couples who
have had a civil union granted by the state.
''What I have permitted is a pastoral ministry
of blessing, which does not mimic a wedding
ceremony,'' Smith said Saturday after the diocese's
two-day annual convention ended.
Smith said he acted because Connecticut began
recognizing civil unions last year and the national
Episcopal Church had done nothing in
response. Each diocese handles the issue differently,
with some allowing parishes to decide on their own
whether they should bless gay couples and others
prohibiting the practice.
At the heart of the matter is whether the church
will ''bless persons who are homosexual and partnered
as cherished and fully accepted members of the body of
Christ,'' Smith told the convention.
Smith's decision was greeted with joy by the
Reverend Pat Gallagher, who leads St. Paul's Church in
Willimantic. ''I couldn't be happier,'' she said.
''I'm just so excited about it. It's a right we should have.''
But the Reverend Christopher Leighton, rector at
St. Paul's Church in Darien, called Smith a
''perpetrator of false teaching'' and said his
decision defies ''Scripture and worldwide Christianity.''
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of
Anglicanism. The global Anglican Communion is
struggling to stay unified despite deep divisions over
how to interpret the Bible on many issues, including gay
clergy and same-sex relationships.
The 2003 election of the first openly gay
Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire,
caused an uproar among overseas Anglican leaders, who
have asked the U.S. denomination to stop ordaining gay
bishops for now and to temporarily refrain from developing
official prayer ceremonies for same-sex couples. (AP)
