Episcopal Church 'breaking apart'
10/12/2007
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Four years after it approved an openly gay bishop, the Episcopal Church is still dealing with the fallout.

Recent developments include a pledge last month by Episcopal bishops meeting in New Orleans to "exercise restraint" in approving another gay bishop. That move, plus a pledge not to authorize public blessings of same-sex unions, came amid pressure from conservative leaders in the worldwide Anglican Communion to which the Episcopal Church, the denomination's U.S. branch, belongs.

Last month's pledges won't change the fact that several churches across the nation likely will leave the Episcopal Church over the coming months, said the Rev. Michael P. Forbes, the chaplain of Grace Chapel, a small group of Rochester-area Episcopalians who have left local churches following the 2003 ordination of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. the rest