Why Washington's National Cathedral will start hosting same sex weddings

CNN reports on a change at the Washington, DC cathedral which has hosted many national events.

Catholic & Episcopalian Efforts in Haiti

Some of the efforts in Haiti by Catholics and Episcopalians:

Catholic Relief Services has turned a golf course in the neighborhood of Pétionville into a camp for the homeless. Supplies from the Dominican Republic are being shipped to the St. François de SalesHospital, one of the oldest Catholic hospitals in Haiti. Two medical teams from Europe are working there and are now able to perform surgery.

The Episcopal seminary has pitched the tents on the soccer field of a crushed parish school. Around 3000 have been treated there already. Haiti is mostly Catholic with about 83,000 Episcopalians.

High Court Turns Aside Church

The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from LA’s St. James Anglican Church. The breakaway Episcopalian congregation is fighting with its former national church over who owns the church's sanctuary and property. The congregation voted to split from the national church after the consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. St. James is now allied with an Anglican diocese in Uganda.

Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church is preparing to officially approve gay clergy serving in any position. At the Episcopal General Convention in Anaheim, California, bishops voted to affirm their support of the move. Delegates representing members and priests are expected to give their approval before the Convention ends this week. The move may end a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops passed at the last convention three years ago. The resolution does not mandate that all dioceses consider gay candidates but encourages them to do so.

Episcopal Alternative

KDFW-TV in Dallas-Ft Worth has a video report on a new alternative for Episcopalians.

Court Sides with Diocese

A California appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that sided with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles over a conservative congregation. St. Luke's Anglican Church in La Crescenta broke away to join with Anglicans overseas. The LA Diocese wants to hang on to the church’s property. St. Luke's leaders object to the denomination’s move toward accepting gay clergy.

Church Head: Jesus Not Only Way

Jesus is not the only way to God. That’s what the head of the Episcopal church told people attending a special convention. Katherine Jefferts Schori said to insist Jesus is the only way to God is to "limit God."

Schori made the remarks in Peoria, Illinois where she had come to shore up support for the denomination. The local Diocese decided to leave the Episcopal Church in November and realign with the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone. The Episcopal Church has battled local organizations in recent years over homosexuality and the ordination of women.

Is it Episcopal or Episcopalian?

You may have heard reporters refer to Episcopalian bishops and the Episcopalian Church. But here's how it should work. Episcopal is an adjective (She is an Episcopal priest). Episcopalian is a noun referring to a member of the Episcopal Church (She is an Episcopalian). An Episcopalian can be a minister, in the sense of ministering to others, and this can be either a lay or an ordained ministry. Priests are usually referred to as the Reverend So-and-So, not Reverend So-and-So. (And they're generally addressed as Father So-and-So, not Reverend that's like addressing a judge as Honorable.) Bishops are usually the Right Reverend So-and-So, and addressed as Bishop So-and-So. Bishops can be identified because they wear purple. Bishops are important in the Episcopal Church.

Anonymous Donation

Some left a check for $3,255 at Dallas' Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. According to the Dallas Morning News, a note signed by “Michael” said the gift was to atone for past crimes. The writer lists 14 crimes including stealing a car and shop lifting. No one at the church knows anybody by the name on the check. The pastor believes the donation may be in response to a 12-step program.

Robinson's Prayer

When HBO rebroadcasts the concert that took place at the Lincoln Memorial, kicking off the presidential inauguration festivities, Gene Robinson's 4-minute prayer will be shown.

The Episcopal priest’s invocation was not a part of the live broadcast nor the HBO repeats because Robinson spoke just before coverage began. The Presidential Inauguration Committee is taking the blame for the omission.

Robinson has been a controversial figure ever since he became the denominations first openly gay Bishop. He was critical of Rick Warren's selection to give the invocation at the swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol. But after Robinson was picked to give the concert prayer, he issued a statement in support of Warren’s participation.

HBO Skips Gay Bishop's Prayer

HBO decided not to air the prayer of Gene Robinson yesterday prior to the pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial. It’s not clear whether the move was designed to snub the first openly Episcopal gay bishop or just an oversight. Gay activists have begun sending complaints to the cable network. There are reports his microphone was not turned on when he started but see for yourself. Here's a video of Robinson's prayer. He prayed for God to "bless this nation with anger.. anger at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people."

Obama Invites Gay Bishop

Barack Obama is asking the first openly gay man to be ordained a bishop in the Episcopal Church to give the opening invocation on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial to start inauguration week. The ordination of Gene Robinson has split the Episcopal Church.

The decision comes on the heels of Obama's invitation to Evangelical pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation on Inauguration Day. That brought criticism from the gay community over Warren's view of homosexuality. Robinson said the choice of Warren was "a slap in the face".

Episcopals Lose Fort Worth

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth is leaving the denomination. Just as several others have recently done. The vote today was overwhelmingly in favor of breaking away to align with the more conservative Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina. The clergy vote was 73-18 in favor of leaving. Among the lay orders, it was 101-26.

Another Episcopal Church Departure

The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, Illinois is breaking away from the denomination. Clergy and lay delegates from its 24 churches and missions voted in favor of the withdrawal 95-26. A California and Pennsylvania diocese have already left and the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas may it be next. Representatives will vote whether to follow suit next week. All the breakaway dioceses are realigning with the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina. A legal fight has begun over church property in California over the departure. Some individual Episcopal parishes have separately aligned with Anglican provinces in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Episcopal Church Runs Deficit

The Episcopal Church will run a deficit of $2.5 million in 2009. The problem is the nearly $2 million spent on legal expenses this year. That’s more than four times the $450,000 set aside for legal costs. Most of the money has gone toward court battles with conservative congregations who are leaving the denomination.

Diocese Breaks Away

The Pittsburgh diocese voted today to break off from the Episcopal Church. The final talley was 240 to 102 with 121 Clergy voting in favor of the split and 33 voting against it. The Pittsburgh diocese follows in the steps of the the Diocese of San Joaquin, California which realigned with a wing of the Anglican church in South America. Similar votes are set for dioceses in Illinois and Texas. The most significant disagreement between the Episcopal Church and conservative dioceses is the Consecrated of gay clergy and bishops.

Episcopal Bishops Toss Out Conservative

Bishops in the Episcopal church has removed one of their own from the pulpit. Robert Duncan has been at odds with his denomination over the ordination of actively gay priests and bishops. The group decided on a vote of 88-35 to remove Duncan had been leading his Pittsburgh diocese toward a vote on realigning with another branch of the Anglican church that does not support gay clergy. The vote on secession is still expected to take place on October 4th. Millions of dollars in church property is at stake as other Episcopal groups have broken away and are fighting the denomination over ownership of the assets. This includes groups in Southern California and Northern Virginia. A vote is set to take place over the same issue this November in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lambeth Conference Begins

The Lambeth Conference has started in England. The once-a-decade summit draws together Anglican bishops from around the world. Church leaders are hoping to avoid a split over the issue of gay clergy. A large number of theological conservative Bishops (most of them from Africa) are boycotting the conference over the issue. At the center of the controversy is Gene Robinson of New Hampshire – the denomination’s first openly gay bishop. Robinson was barred from attending Lambeth. The Anglican Communion has 77-million-members worldwide. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the US.

Gay Bishop Told to Stay Away

Gene Robinson has been told by Anglican authorities he is not welcome at a church meeting in London because of the controversy over his appointment as the first openly gay bishop in the church. Robinson serves in New Hampshire with the Episcopal church, the Anglican church presence in the US. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is hoping to avoid the issue and prevent a split in the church. He asked Robinson not to give a sermon in London today but Robinson defied the Archbishop. His talk was interrupted by a protester who calling Robinson a heretic and urged him to repent. Look for more fireworks during the Lambeth Conference which begins Wednesday and runs through August 3^rd.

Denominations v Congregations

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is getting support in its fight over state rules governing church splits from the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Presbyterian Church, USA among others. More than a dozen Protestant denominations and regional districts have filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese. Under state law passed after the Civil War, congregations get to keep their property whenever they break off from a denomination. The issue has come up because so many congregations are leaving mainline churches over issues such as gay clergy and same-sex unions. Eleven conservative congregations left Episcopal Church to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a group backed by the conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria. The court battle is expected to last for years.