At the end of the day, the bishops emerged with nothing decided. But Bishop J. Neil Alexander, of Atlanta, was optimistic that they would soon produce a winning document.<\/p>\n
“My own feeling is the statement will be shaped in such a way that it will be well received by the leaders of the Anglican communion and also be well received by the majority of the members of the Episcopal Church,” Alexander said.<\/p>\n
That remains to be seen. According to several sources, the bishops have agreed on content that is unlikely to appease conservatives.<\/p>\n
They will reportedly reiterate that they will show restraint in consecrating openly gay bishops, but they will not rule it out altogether.<\/p>\n
They may say they will not officially perform same-sex blessings that are not authorized \u201d\u201d yet, nearly a dozen dioceses openly permit them. And they will back a proposal that would let the presiding bishop appoint a few bishops to be ambassadors to the unhappy conservative congregations.<\/p>\n
But that falls short of the independent oversight conservatives had wanted.<\/p>\n