DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – The governing board of an Episcopal church here has voted unanimously to allow the blessing of same-sex unions among members of its congregation.

The 12-member governing board, or vestry, at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church has been discussing the question of same-sex unions over the past year. The board encouraged conversation among the congregation, and set aside time at meetings to discuss the issue.

A summary of the discussions was presented at a congregational meeting June 6, and the vestry voted June 21.

Church Rector Scott Benhase said opinions ranged from those who felt very uncomfortable about having any kind of liturgical rite for gay and lesbian couples to others who felt from the beginning that it was what the parish should do.

National church leaders decided at a convention last summer to allow each local diocese to make its own decision about whether to bless same-sex relationships, Benhase said.

Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina also told clergy that he would allow such blessings in this diocese, Benhase said.

The national church narrowly defeated a resolution authorizing the development of a church-wide rite, leaving any congregation that decides to offer the blessing to decide what it should look like.

At St. Philip’s, the rite “asks God to bless the relationship between two people who desire to share their life together,” Benhase said.

“It is a non-sacramental rite,” he said. “The church for 2,000 years has asked God to bless many people and things apart from sacramental rites. This rite then is not a marriage rite. It is a rite that asks God’s blessing on the two people who have come forth requesting it. The blessing is not declared as in the sacramental rites of the church.”

St. Philip’s parish is developing a list of guidelines for conducting the rite, he said.

“Everything was done by the book in terms of listening, praying, discerning and by elected leadership,” Benhase said. “I would do nothing as a priest without consent and permission.”

In a statement, Bishop Curry said the question of whether to bless same-sex unions is part of a larger concern for providing “faithful and loving pastoral care and spiritual support for all persons who are part of the church community.”

The statement said the church is “called to be a community where all persons are welcomed, honored and loved as followers of Jesus and members of the family of God.”

A June 6 letter from St. Philip’s vestry to its congregation said the parish was trying to ensure that it is welcoming, supporting and nurturing to gay and lesbian members.

“I can’t say when the first blessing will be,” he said. “I expect it to come in the next year.

“It will be a celebration and a blessing of a couple’s relationship in the context of the community of faith at St. Philip’s.”