A year after electing gay bishop, church is holding together

Donations to the church are expected to drop by a few million dollars.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A year after the election of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, the church remains intact -- splintered but not split. Most Episcopalians have stuck with their church, and a dissident network of conservatives is growing more slowly than its founders hoped.
And yet the fallout and tension continues, particularly overseas, with worldwide Anglican unity in doubt.
"The church has reached a polarizing crossroads," said the Rev. John Sorenson, a moderate in the conservative Diocese of Albany, N.Y.
"Differences that those of us moderates used to think were a normal part of the church have reached a point where the conservative wing of the church is no longer willing to put up with the liberal wing -- and the conservative wing is intent on winning."
The rift over homosexuality exploded last June 7, when the Diocese of New Hampshire elected V. Gene Robinson as bishop. Robinson, who lives openly with his longtime male partner, endured a tumultuous national confirmation process two months later and is installed in his post.
Rift
Conservatives warned of a schism as protests poured in from evangelical leaders in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion, a global association of churches that includes America's Episcopal Church.
But the U.S. denomination, with 2.3 million members, is far from breaking apart.
Just seven of the 107 Episcopal dioceses, and less than 70 of the 6,800 congregations in other dioceses, have joined the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, which conservatives formed six months ago as a "church within a church" opposing denominational leaders.
At least two more dioceses are expected to vote on affiliating this year, but several evangelical bishops are reluctant to join while their parishioners are divided on the issue, conservative leaders say.
"It will continue to grow; it's just going to grow more slowly," said Canon David Anderson, head of the American Anglican Council, a conservative group that is helping build the network. "I think people are treating it as a very serious decision."
Robinson's elevation strained Episcopal ties with Roman Catholics and the Russian Orthodox, but relations have improved since then, said the Rev. Robert Wright, the top Episcopal consultant on ecumenical outreach.
Donations
Income overall to the national church will likely drop by a few million dollars, but some dioceses and parishes planned to give slightly more than expected to the denomination -- easing the damage from those that withheld money in protest, church spokesman Dan England said. The financial outlook is worse in a dozen or so dioceses where opponents of ordaining gays held back substantial donations.
"If that's the apocalypse, we'll take it," said Jim Naughton, spokesman for the liberal Diocese of Washington.
Still, the crisis is nowhere near resolved, as the international Anglican situation indicates.
Leaders from 22 of the 38 Anglican provinces have denounced Episcopalians for consecrating Robinson, saying the Bible bans gay sex. The intensity of their complaints prompted the Anglican spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to call an emergency summit and form a commission on how the communion can remain unified.
In April, some Anglican leaders from African provinces were so infuriated they opted to refuse donations from the U.S. church. So far, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria have declined their annual stipend from Episcopal national headquarters, England said. However, American money continues to flow to these provinces from other sources, such as dioceses.
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