Oct 17, 2004 - 23:16:04 CDT
FARGO -- A report expected Monday should provide a plan to move the worldwide Anglican Communion through internal divisions following the appointment of an openly gay bishop, North Dakota's Episcopal bishop said."There's important work the church needs to be involved in," said the Rt. Rev. Michael Smith, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota, which is based in Fargo.
"The controversy over sexual morality has really consumed a lot of our time and energy," he said.
Last year, Episcopal priest V. Gene Robinson, who lives openly with a same-sex partner, became bishop of New Hampshire.
His election as bishop spurred an outcry by conservatives against the Episcopal Church USA. The church is the American province of the Anglican Communion, which includes 38 provinces around the world.
Much of the Anglican world is looking toward a set of recommendations, called the Windsor Report, to be released today in St. Paul's Cathedral Crypt in London.
The report was drafted by a task force called the Lambeth Commission, appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to offer recommendations about how to preserve the global denomination in the face of divisions over the roles of gays and lesbians in the church.
Smith said Episcopal bishops have been asked to "prayerfully consider" the report's recommendations, regardless of what they are.
"We're all just waiting," he said.
Smith said he plans to ask parishioners and clergy to read the report, and plans to discuss the report with regional bishops this fall.
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