Episcopalians work to avoid more division

The Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, the rector of Trinity Church in Boston and a prominent voice of liberal Episcopalians, said he has agreed to delay blessing same-sex couples, to the consternation of some of his many gay parishioners, in an effort to avoid further antagonizing conservatives alienated by the consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson, head of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.

And the Rev. William L. Murdoch, rector of All Saints Church in West Newbury and a leader of conservative Episcopalians in Massachusetts, said he believes that none of the conservative parishes in Massachusetts are ready to separate from the diocese, unlike other conservative parishes in liberal dioceses around the nation.

The efforts to prevent a division within the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts run counter to the trend in other parts of the worldwide Anglican communion, in which parishes, dioceses, and provinces are increasingly dividing along ideological lines. Over the last week, many conservative parishes have begun exploring ways to get out from under the control of liberal bishops.

But the Diocese of Massachusetts, which with 79,000 members is among the largest Episcopal dioceses in the nation, appears thus far to be holding together. The diocese is overwhelmingly liberal -- several church leaders estimated that only four or five of the 194 Episcopal parishes opposed Robinson's consecration -- but Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, the head of the diocese, appears to have been successful at maintaining positive relations with conservative parishes, despite his status as a leading liberal voice in the national church.

Yesterday, as about 900 Massachusetts Episcopalians gathered at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel for the diocese's 218th convention, Shaw was studiously low key about the consecration of Robinson, even though he has been a vocal supporter of the ordination of a gay bishop, and has given tacit approval to the 10 to 15 Massachusetts parishes blessing same-sex unions.

"I look out on this convention today, and I see the faces of a number of people that made their way up to New Hampshire for the consecration of Bishop Robinson last Sunday," Shaw said at the convention yesterday. "And for some people in this diocese, that was a joyfully anticipated event, and for other people in this diocese it was a sad time in the life of this church and one that people found very upsetting.

"We have everything in this diocese. But something I'm confident of . . . we'll be able to make it through this difficult time and in the end be a stronger and more vibrant church."

Shaw did not refer again to the crisis and instead focused on revitalizing the church's mission. He said he hopes over the next decade to open eight new congregations for Spanish speakers, immigrants, and other newcomers, to establish five new campus ministries, and to increase the diocese's ties with Anglican churches outside the United States.

In an interview, Shaw said no parish in Massachusetts has asked his permission to be overseen by a more conservative bishop. He said he was not sure how he would respond to such a request.

Shaw did say that about six liberal parishes from conservative dioceses outside Massachusetts have asked whether he would be open to supervising them. He said he is wary of such a step, but that he is in conversation with the presiding bishop, Bishop Frank T. Griswold III, about how the national church will handle requests by parishes to choose bishops when they differ on issues such as the Robinson consecration.

Just last week, in response to a request by conservative Episcopalians, Shaw published a theological defense of his vote to affirm the election of Robinson as an Episcopal bishop. He has been reaching out to conservative parishes in Massachusetts. Lloyd said Shaw asked Trinity Church, a nationally prominent parish, to delay moving forward on same-sex blessings to avoid intensifying the controversy over homosexuality.

"The church has just made a bold and courageous step forward, and now we're in the process of trying to reach out to those who have been dislocated by that," Lloyd said. "We intend to go forward, but this is a very tough moment, and I don't want to contribute to the further sundering of the church."

Lloyd said that over the last several weeks, a conservative minority at Trinity "has begun to make themselves heard" and that he is trying to reach out to them.

But he is also under pressure from his parish's liberal majority, Lloyd said. "On the progressive side, I'm trying people's patience."

Murdoch, the West Newbury rector, said conservative parishes are feeling good about Shaw's leadership, but unhappy about the direction of the church. He said he expected members of his parish to ask tough questions of an assisting bishop who is to visit this month as they debate what to do next.

"This is a wait-and-see time," Murdoch said. "The force of history is shifting the whole Anglican Communion worldwide, but how is this going to affect the parishes who are clearly in the minority here? That's a work in progress. All of us want to see how this is going to unfold."

Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com.