"From my perspective as Bishop, the blessing of the committed lifelong
unions of persons of the same gender is one way our community can live
the Gospel through faithful and loving pastoral care and spiritual
support for each other," the Curry letter reads.

The letter, which was sent Thursday, is meant to offer pastoral
guidance to the clergy in the wake of a vote by officials at St.
Philip's Episcopal Church in Durham last month to allow the blessing of
same-sex unions among its members.

The Rev. Hal Hayek of St. Anne's Episcopal Church praised the bishop's
letter, saying that it gave clear-cut guidelines on how to proceed
should a congregation want to do so.

Hayek said that the people of St. Anne's have already held discussions
on why the church blesses any union, including those between men and
women, and the next step in those discussions would cover whether same-
sex unions should be blessed. He said he believes that such blessings
can be appropriate.

Other local Episcopal leaders are taking a more cautious approach.

The Rev. Donald Goodheart of St. Paul's Episcopal Church said he will
not move forward on the blessings until a consensus is reached within
the congregation on what to do.

"At St. Paul's, we have people on both sides," Goodheart said. "Our
congregation is sharply divided on that right now."

The Rev. Howard Backus of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church said that he
would wait until the national Episcopal General Convention votes to
approve such blessings.

"I just feel like the General Convention is the voice of the church,"
Backus said.

The General Convention meets every three years and has struggled with
the issue of homosexuality for several years. So far, it has declined
to endorse same-sex unions.

In a compromise decision on the issue of same-sex unions, officials at
last year's convention determined that local churches offering same-sex
blessings were within the bounds of the national church, but they
stopped short of authorizing common liturgies for such services.

Last year's convention was also notable in its approval of the election
of the church's first openly gay bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson of
New Hampshire.

Those decisions on homosexuality, particularly regarding Robinson,
angered many of the more conservative Episcopalians here and prompted
protests by Anglican leaders in Africa and Asia. The Episcopal Church
is the U.S. branch of Anglicanism.

The next General Convention is scheduled for 2006.

In his letter, Curry said he understands that not all congregations
will agree to bless same-sex unions. For those that do, he asked that
certain guidelines be followed, including consulting with the bishop
first, consulting with the parish community and the local church's
leaders, and proceeding with the expectation that the relationships
will be characterized by such things as fidelity, monogamy and mutual
love and respect.

The diocese headed by Curry is one of three Episcopal dioceses in the
state. It serves much of the middle of the state, including Episcopal
churches in the Triad.

END