After Episcopal showdown in Louisiana, leaders say rift may splinter U.S. church

http://www.startribune.com/484/story/1448452.html

[Minneapolis Star Tribune] 27 Sep 2007--This has been an emotionally trying week for the Episcopal Church, and only time will tell if it's also going to be known as a historic turning point in a split within the church.

On Wednesday church leaders spoke of "building by consensus" and "reaching for compromise." But at the same time, there was a growing sense from people on both sides of the issue that the conversation about a divided church is starting to focus more on "when" than "if."We've had years of meetings with no movement," said Bishop Martyn Minns of Fairfax, Va., a leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a network of churches that are considering severing ties with the U.S. church to form a network with an international body. "Sooner or later, we're going to have to acknowledge that the current approach isn't working."

In their statement Tuesday, the bishops agreed to "exercise restraint" in the ordination of gays and promised not to authorize public rites for same-sex unions. In a nationwide teleconference with reporters Wednesday, Minns dismissed the response as rhetoric.

"They dodged the issue," he said. For example, he said, many churches bless same-sex relationships on their own without seeking approval from their dioceses, which means a promise that dioceses won't endorse the blessings is moot.

"Basically, they're saying that it's going to be business as usual," he said. "The American church is serving notice that it's going to go on its own way and ignore the request from the rest of the world."