Gay Candidates Vie for Episcopal Bishop

Two openly gay reverends are among the six candidates in the running for assistant bishops in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. The balloting begins today in Riverside at the diocese's annual convention. The election of either Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco or the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool of Baltimore would mark the first election of a bishop in a same-sex relationship since V. Gene Robinson was chosen in New Hampshire in 2003. That action led dozens of conservative parishes and four dioceses to vote to leave the Episcopal Church.