Episcopalians at risk with support for gays
Anglicans threaten to cut off affiliation for stance
By Rachel Zoll The Associated Press
February 23 2007

NEW YORK · Three years of emergency summits, nuanced apologies and behind-the-scenes negotiating failed. Anglican leaders this week gave the U.S. Episcopal Church an ultimatum: Halt your march toward full acceptance of gays, or lose your place in the global Anglican family.

"Now, Episcopalians are asking themselves whether the cost of membership has become too high.

We made our `yes' to gays and lesbians," wrote the Rev. Ann Fontaine of the Diocese of Wyoming, in an examination of the Anglican demands. "Let it stand."

The global Anglican Communion, represented in the United States by the Episcopal Church, has spent years debating how its 77 million members should interpret Scripture on salvation, truth and sexuality. the rest