www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-496055.html
BY FLO JOHNSTON : The Herald-Sun
[email protected]
Jun 29, 2004 : 10:09 pm ET
DURHAM -- The governing board of an Episcopal church in Durham voted unanimously this month to allow the blessing of same-sex unions among members of its congregation.
Over the past year, the 12-member governing board, or vestry, at St. Philip's Episcopal Church has been discussing the question of same-sex unions, which has sharply divided the national Episcopal Church. On Tuesday, a spokeswoman in the office of the Episcopal Diocese in Raleigh said that office was not aware of any other church in the diocese that had made the same decision.
St. Philip's vestry started the public discussion at its Jan. 25 annual meeting with a report to the congregation. Since then, there has been a parishwide conversation, with the congregation encouraged to discuss the issue among themselves, with members of the vestry and with the clergy.