Inclusion divides Anglican church

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/yorkstar/03012007/mainenews-a-episcopal0301.html

[York County Coast Star News] 2 Mar 2007--Heidi Shott, the Press Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, said the issue of sexuality was first addressed formally in 2003 in the United States, when the church's 74th General Convention passed a resolution titled Consider Blessing Committed, Same-Gender Relationships. That resolution included several affirmations including one that said "homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church."

"The Episcopal Church has not said we'll have a rite or a service," Shott said. "But we'll recognize that these things happen."

It was also in 2003 that the New Hampshire diocese elected Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly gay man. The national church, composed of a House of Deputies and House of Bishops, consented to Bishop Robinson's election.