Last week, at their annual convention, the Episcopal Church broke new ground in the religious acceptance of gays and lesbians. Among those attending the convention were a delegation of San Diegans representing the local diocese, including members of the clergy as well as lay people who were asked to vote on the election of the Rev. Gene Robinson, as well as the church’s blessing of same-sex unions.

Each diocese had one lay and one ordained vote in the Robinson decision. The San Diego deputation had a 2-2 split among the lay voters, and voted no in a 3-1 decision among the clergy.

“The vote came out the way I expected,” said Bishop Gethin B. Hughes, who was one of the votes against Robinson, of the results. “It was no surprise to me.”

The final tally of all the diocese votes showed 128 in favor and 63 against with 25 deputations divided.

“This vote truly has the power to disrupt the Anglican Communion,” Rev. Josh Acton of the San Diego delegation said on the local diocese website. “Some feel elated, thinking that, ‘Finally, our time has come.’ Others realize that if we consent to Robinson, things will never be the same again.”

Following the vote that approved Robinson and sent the matter on to the House of Bishops for final approval, Acton said, “I personally feel numb and sad for the Episcopal Church and pray the Bishops will decide otherwise.”

The House of Bishops affirmed the vote with a 62 to 43 decision in Robinson’s favor.

Here in San Diego, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Hillcrest has had a longstanding relationship with the gay community, having marched in numerous Pride Parades. Rev. John Carrol, the former head of the cathedral, has also marched with the PFLAG contingent in the parade. Reaction from St. Paul’s congregation seemed to be positive.

“I think, generally speaking, at least the members of the congregation that I spoke with, people were pleased with the nomination of Gene Robinson,” said Rev. Allisyn Thomas, the Cathedral administrator. “They saw that as an important step towards full inclusion in the church and he seemed to be qualified for the position. They were pretty happy, but they knew there would be consequences.”

Thomas went on to say that she did believe that some in the church, particularly the larger Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, would not be happy with the decision.

The issue of blessing same-sex unions was also on the table at the convention this year, and while it did not stir up as much media attention as the confirmation of Robinson it was no less debated at the convention.

“Good and faithful people can and do disagree on these matters,” said Rev. Gary Nicolosi in his observations about the widespread discussion of gay issues at the convention. “There is much talk about a compromise that would ratify Canon Robinson but postpone any rite of same-sex blessing. The Diocese of Virginia, which claims the theological center, has articulated such a compromise.”

As a part of the compromise it was decided that individual dioceses would be left with the task of deciding whether they would bless same-sex unions, something that the San Diego diocese has not been willing to do in the past without the church’s permission.

“Our Bishop has not been willing to allow us to do that and we are under obedience to him,” Rev. Canon Lee B. Teed of St. Paul’s Cathedral told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “This new resolution gives us some hope that maybe the Cathedral and another larger parishes might be places where that can happen now, but we will have to wait and see how that all comes down.”

However, in a statement issued this week Bishop Gethin Hughes of the San Diego Diocese said that the recent decisions of the convention would have very little effect here in San Diego.

“I will continue my policy of refusing to ordain any candidates for the ministry who are sexually active outside of marriage, whether they are homosexual or heterosexual,” Hughes said. “I will continue to refuse to authorize any requests by the clergy of this diocese to bless same-sex unions, because the Anglican Communion is nowhere near clearly understanding what such a blessing would mean. At the same time, I will call upon every member of this diocesan family to be welcoming and respectful to our gay and lesbian fellow Christians who are part of our congregational life.”