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Instead, Lipscomb succeeded in recommending that the Presiding Bishop's office oversee whatever resources the church officially circulates for the next three years.

After the bishops approved the resolution, the Rev. Susan Russell of Claiming the Blessing repeated the analogy she chose at the previous General Convention in 2000. "It's not the whole enchilada, but there's a lot of guacamole there for me," she said.

She praised Bishop Wayne Smith of Missouri for changing a reference from "homosexual persons" to "gay men and lesbians."

"It's important to me because I'm taken seriously enough to name myself," she said.

Douglas LeBlanc is an associate editor of Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

See LeBlanc's earlier dispatches from the General Convention:

Darkness in the Afternoon | Openly homosexual Episcopal priest cleared of misconduct, confirmed as bishop (Aug.

The Bitter Harvest of Sexual Ideology | No one wanted the Gene Robinson bishopric debate to take this sad turn (Aug. 5, 2003)

Deputies Slice into the Gordian Knot | The Episcopal Church's House of Deputies approves Gene Robinson as New Hampshire Bishop. The House of Bishops will vote today. (Aug. 4, 2003)

Praise the Lord and Pass the Condoms | Southern Hemisphere primates warned that approving Gene Robinson would place the church outside most of the world's 72 million Anglicans. "You'll get over it," responded about 60 percent of the House of Deputies. (Aug. 4, 2003)

Gene Robinson Takes Questions in a Church called Gethsemane | Speaks on reparative therapy, potential schism, and whether he really "/left" his wife for his male lover. (Aug. 4, 2003)

What in the World Is God Doing? | For Episcopalians, the night may be darkest before the dawn. (Aug. 4, 2003)

Integrity Doles Out God's Not-So Inclusive Love | The Integrity Eucharist has become a triennial sort of mass pity party. (Aug. 1, 2003)

Gay Rites Would Not Bless Ecumenism | Could also impair Anglican work overseas. (Aug. 1, 2003)

Gene and Me | My history with the openly gay man elected bishop of Rochester. (July 31, 2003)

More coverage of the General Convention is available from the ECUSA website, which has streaming video. Conservative and orthodox perspectives are available from Classical Anglican Net News, the American Anglican Council's A Place to Stand, and David Virtue's Virtuosity.

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August (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47