Equal marriage in the Episcopal Church

So i kept that Twitter window open....aw, hell, I gave up any pretense of working and just watched the tweets, as the House of Deputies considered the resolutions that would equalize marriage rights (on a trial basis, technically, but still) and bring the canons up to speed wth gender neutral language, while allowing any clergy or bishops who are uncomfortable to "opt out" yet preserving the right of gay couples to marry in church.  

And I have been watching news from General Conventions for years, one way or another, as I rooted for the Episcopal Church to live up to its promises, and to become a safe space for me to push my wife.  And slowly, slowly, it has, and I pushed her, and she swam, and now she's like Uber Episcopalian and I'm spending my afternoon tearing up at twitter feeds on arcane points of order in a triennial assembly of people I love even though I don't share faith with them.

Because the House of Bishops voted to make marriage liturgy equal, and to change the canons, while preserving some Anglican fudge so that clergy and bishops who are not comfortable, have some cover.

And then the House of Deputies did the same.

And both votes were substantial.  Let your yes mean yes, indeed.

And there were General Convention jokes, ranging from the jokes about being Nimble (aka Bonnieball) from the last GC and you KNOW you are a church nerd if you remember that three years down the line, to the delegation from Texas handing out prunes to "move things along", and the OMG moment when....

The Episcopal Church, the Republican Party at Prayer, the Old Establishment, voted for marriage equality.

Oh, yes, and then there is that absolutely FABULOUS preacher Michael Curry they voted in for the next PB.... but we'll talk about him separately...

From CBS:

The Episcopal Church, with nearly 1.9 million members, has included many of the Founding Fathers and presidents.

Among mainline Protestant groups, only the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), both of which are smaller than the Episcopal Church, allow same-sex weddings in all their congregations....

The Episcopal Church has already made history during the convention, electing its first black presiding bishop. Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina won in a landslide over the weekend.

Curry has allowed same-sex church weddings in North Carolina, and he said the Supreme Court "affirmed the authenticity of love" by legalizing gay marriage.