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SPOKANE, Wash. - Episcopal bishops ended their fall meeting acknowledging the "tensions and pain" in their denomination and other Anglican provinces worldwide over the first openly gay bishop in the American church.
The House of Bishops said in a statement Tuesday that they would accept "in a spirit of humility" a report due Oct. 18 from a panel of Anglican Communion leaders on whether the global association can stay unified despite differences over homosexuality.
The 2.3-million-member Episcopal Church is the U.S. representative of the Anglican Communion, which has 77-million members and traces its roots to the Church of England.
The Episcopal vote last year to authorize the consecration of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as New Hampshire bishop has roiled the Communion. Robinson lives openly with his longtime partner. Many overseas Anglican leaders believe homosexuality is incompatible with the Bible and have demanded some disciplinary action against the U.S. church.
Anglican bishops from other countries attended the Episcopal meeting in Spokane and discussed the issue. The U.S. bishops said they were aware of the "difficult consequences" for their overseas colleagues and said they were "deeply saddened by the pain we have heard so movingly described."
The Episcopal bishops said they planned to meet again early next year to study the October report.
"We are confident that our household of faith is large enough to embrace us all," they said.