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Gay N.H. Episcopal bishop enters civil union, Calif. Episcopal bishop to marry gays

By Rex Wockner

National News Briefs

The gay Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire who has almost singlehandedly caused a near schism in the worldwide Anglican Communion entered into an official civil union with his partner June 7.
The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Mark Andrew, who have been together for 19 years, tied the knot at St. Paul's Church in Concord, N.H. About 120 people attended the ceremony.
Robinson was consecrated a bishop in 2003 and the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch, has been internally at war over the morality of homosexuality ever since.
Many observers believe a formal split in the communion is inevitable.
Robinson suggested he wanted to get civilly united before attending this summer's Anglican Communion Lambeth Conference in England, to protect his partner and daughters. He has received death threats since becoming the communion's first openly gay and presumably non-celibate bishop.
Meanwhile, the Episcopal bishop of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, said June 9 that he strongly supports California's legalization of same-sex marriage and will volunteer to conduct civil weddings in San Francisco, which is expected to be hit with a tsunami of same-sex marriages.
Andrus also called on the faithful to vote against the November ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to undo the Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.
The diocese is running ads celebrating the ruling and inviting gay couples to Episcopal churches for premarital counseling.
"I urge you to encourage all couples, regardless of orientation, to follow the pattern of first being married in a secular service and then being blessed in The Episcopal Church," Andrus wrote in a pastoral letter.
"I urge Episcopalians, clergy and lay, to volunteer as Deputy Marriage Commissioners. There are over 4,000 civil same-sex marriages planned in a short period of time in the city of San Francisco alone and the city is asking for help in meeting demand. I intend to volunteer for this at my earliest opportunity."

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