Last evening the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church’s General Convention passed legistation on church rites for blessing same sex unions.  Even better, it passed with a strong majority:  104 bishops yes, 30 no, and 2 abstentions.  It goes to the House of Deputies today, where it seems likely to pass, but you never know.

As I understand it, this is a formalized stating of what is already a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” practice of the church, allowing individual bishops to decide if they will do this or not in their diocese.

Passage of this is a huge step; as we know from watching the situation regarding the U.S. military, it can be hard for an institution to publically claim the values it actually practices.  I bet many of us can think of examples from our own lives–I know I can.

What will the ripple effects of all this be–not only in the Anglican Communion–but for LGBT rights (and rites) everywhere?  It will be interesting to see!

The Lead at Episcopal Cafe lists various press sources.  Here’s the New York Times.

The Walking with Integrity Blog calls it “generous pastoral response.”