EC(USA) Asked Again to Stop Gay Union Blessings

The Episcopal diocese of East Carolina passed resolutions that calls on the entire 2.3 million member Episcopal Church USA and its sister church in Canada to enact a moratorium on same-sex blessings.

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Monday, February 07, 2005

Representatives and leaders from some 75 Episcopal parishes across North Carolina voted to unite their voice on the issue of homosexuality in the church. The Episcopal diocese of East Carolina passed resolutions that calls on the entire 2.3 million member Episcopal Church USA and its sister church in Canada to enact moratoriua on same-sex blessings and ordination of gay individuals.

While the resolution is unlikely to shift the direction or make any changes at the national church level, it is a reflection of the growing desire to keep marriage traditional and abide by biblical teachings within pockets of Episcopal communities.

The resolutions were passed during the 122nd annual convention of the diocese of East Carolina, held on Thursday through Saturday.

Next week, the archbishops of the entire 77 million-member Anglican Communion will gather for a worldwide meeting on the same issue. The meeting will deliberate on the highly publicized Windsor Report on homosexuality – an international report regarding homosexuality and the church that took a year to draft. The Windsor report, although not set in stone, called on the ECUSA to also place moratoria on same-sex marriage blessings and ordinations of homosexual individuals until the matters are resolved on an international scale.