Supporters of Changing Attitude and LGCM, lesbian and gay, lay and ordained, have been among the first couples announcing their intention to register their partnerships.
 

Several bishops have made statements, written articles in Diocesan Newspapers or issued letters to clergy.
 

The Bishop of Worcester, Dr Peter Selby, a patron of Changing Attitude, has written an article for the Church Times (19 August) dissociating himself from the House of Bishops over its statement on the Civil Partnerships Act.
 

At least eight conservative priests in the Diocese of Chelmsford have told their bishop, the Rt Rev John Gladwin, that they will refuse to share Holy Communion with him.
 

"We do not believe that the different responses of our sister churches to lesbian and gay people are of such significance that we should break the bonds of communion.".
 

The Scottish Episcopal Church has never regarded the fact that someone was in a close relationship with a member of the same sex as in itself constituting a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry.
 

A major fault line has become apparent in the reaction of different groups to the Windsor report. Pro-gay groups argue that there have been repeated commitments to listen to, study with and engage in dialogue with lesbian and gay people.
 

At the initiative of Changing Attitude, a meeting has been organised with Canon Gregory Cameron, Deputy General Secretary Anglican Consultative Council. Canon Cameron is secretary to the Reception Reference Group, appointed to monitor the way in which the Windsor Report is received.
 

Changing Attitude believes the Communion needs to do two things to enable lesbian and gay Anglicans to contribute to the processes identified above and asked for by Windsor: Make resources available, and authorise individuals or groups
 

The Modern Churchpeople’s Union (MCU) is to publish ‘The Windsor Report - A liberal response‘, in February, before the General Synod debates the report.
 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, strong backing from the House of Bishops this week to ensure that the recommendations of the Windsor Report are implemented.
 

The Rt Revd John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln and a patron of Changing Attitude, has commissioned a liturgy for use by those in “non-marriage relationships” enabling them to give thanks to God in church for their union.
 

Dr Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans, urged church leaders not to be afraid to make a stand against bullies in a sermon preached in St Albans Cathedral on Sunday 26 December and broadcast on Radio 4.
 

Inclusive Church, a network of Anglicans who support gay clergy and endorse the blessing of same-sex relationships, broadened its geographical reach this weekend when a new group was formed in Sheffield.
 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is jointly chairing a meeting today, 1 December at Lambeth Palace with the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope to discuss the way forward over the homosexuality crisis in the Anglican Church with more than 50 Church of England bishops.
 

Eight bishops voted against the 'wrecking' amendment and supported the bill giving rights to lesbian and gay partners, while only two bishops voted in favour.
 

The Most Revd David Hope, soon to retire as Archbishop of York, spoke to Stephen Bates, the Guardian’s religious affairs correspondent, of his despair at the rancour in the Anglican communion over the gay issue which is dragging the church apart.
 

The Rev David Lacy of Kilmarnock, the Church of Scotland’s incoming moderator said on 31^st October that sanctioning openly gay ministers posed too grave a risk for a church evenly divided on the issue.
 

The Rt Revd Dr Willie Walsh, Roman Catholic Bishop of Killaloe in Ireland, said in a radio interview on Clare FM on 27 October 2004 that, while he has "difficulty" with same-sex marriage, he does not see any problem with civil unions that are similar to the Civil Partnership bill currently being debated for the UK
 

Reform, the evangelical pressure group, is overwhelmingly supporting plans to start disengaging from liberal bishops and refusing to pay funds to their dioceses, to indicate their disapproval of what they see as the church's slide into acceptance of sexual immorality.
 

The conservative evangelical group Reform has published plans to boycott and withhold funds from bishops who support gay priests.
 

A Church of Scotland minister, the Rev Iain Whyte, announced on 22 July that he is to bless a gay ‘marriage’ in the Phoenix Bar in Edinburgh.
 

Anglican evangelicals who are uncomfortable with the increasingly hard-line stance on gay and lesbian relationships within the Anglican Church have formed a new group.
 

A delegation of five or six leaders Evangelical leaders were due to meet with the Bishop of St Albans in the week beginning 10 April after about 40 clergy and laity protested against the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John as Dean of St Albans.
 

When the Civil Partnership Bill was debated in the House of Lords in the week beginning 26 April 2004, the two Bishops present supported the Bill.

On Monday 19 April 2004, the appointment was announced of Canon Dr Jeffrey John as the new Dean and Rector of the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Albans.

On Wednesday 11 February the General Synod of the Church of England debated “Some Issues in Human Sexuality“, a report issued in November 2003 by the House of Bishop’s Working Party on Human Sexuality. 

The General Synod of the Church of England today discussed the guide “Some Issues in Human Sexuality”, the most recent report on the Church’s understanding of lesbian and gay people. Of the 15 speakers called in the debate, 10 spoke in favour of a change in the Church of England’s conservative position.

In 2001, the [Scottish] General Synod received Human Sexuality: A Study Guide and resolved "that the Study Guide produced by the Working Party on Human Sexuality be received by the General Synod and that its use be commended to those congregations who wished to explore the issues addressed by it".

On December 30^th, Anglican Mainstream delivered an email petition containing 13 million electronic signatures of those opposed to gay clergy in the Anglican Church to the Archbishop of Canterbury. But there was considerable doubt as to the validity of the numbers claimed.

Changing Attitude welcomes the publication today of 'Further issues in human sexuality: A guide to the debate'.

On the eve of the Primates meeting on 15th and 16th October at Lambeth Palace, London, Changing Attitude is organising a service of prayer and celebration. The service is being planned in co-operation with other members of the Human Sexuality Joint Strategy Group - LGCM, Lesbian and Gay Clergy Consultation and General Synod Human Sexuality Group. Everyone will be welcome at the service.

In preparation for the Primates Meeting, Changing Attitude, a member of ALGA, the Alliance of Lesbian and Gay Anglicans has asked all members to write a letter to the Primates expressing our prayers and concern for them when they meet on 15^th and 16^th October..

Dr Jeffrey John’s appointment bishop of Reading in the Diocese of Oxford was announced on 21^st May. He would have succeeded the Right Rev Dominic Walker who had succeeded Dr Rowan Williams as Bishop of Monmouth. After a vigorous campaign waged against his appointment, he was eventually forced to withdraw.

The appointment and subsequent withdrawal of Dr Jeffrey John from Reading was a personal tragedy for many of those involved and a loss to the Church of England's slow progress to becoming an open and welcoming church for lesbian and gay people. Changing Attitude will continue to work responsibly and sensitively to support lesbian and gay Christians and inform and educate the wider church.

The report has at last been finalised and circulated in draft to the House of Bishops, who considered the report at their meeting in January. There will now be a period of regional consultations among the bishops. The report might be published in the summer. It will offer a survey of positions and opinions within the church as a guide to continuing discussion  rather than present any radically new material or come to any new position.

The Rt Rev Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London has been reported, according to the Sunday times, as warning his gay clergy to end homosexual relationships or face disciplinary action. He is said to have outlined the new policy at two recent meetings with conservative evangelical clergy in London Diocese. He told them he would act to "uphold the discipline of the church."

A gay priest in the Diocese of Monmouth and his long-term partner of 22 years became the official foster parents two weeks ago of a 15 year old teenager who has suffered severe learning difficulties and behavioural problems which make the child difficult to place.

The campaign by conservative evangelical groups in the Anglican Church against the appointment of Dr Rowan Williams as the Archbishop-designate of Canterbury began in August when a letter from Dr Williams, written to his fellow Primates on the day that his appointment to Canterbury was announced, was leaked. On 6 August, the diocese of Sydney posted the letter on its website. Since then, the pressure from the more extreme conservative evangelical groups has grown

Vicars across Britain are defying the Church of England's strict ban on blessings for gay couples by presiding over hundreds of such ceremonies every year.

The Revd Paul Collier, member of General Synod and Changing Attitude, has been elected unopposed to the Crown Appointments Commission

Members of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA) protested outside the Christian Institute in the week ending 25 September. The Christian Institute is calling for Northern Ireland to be excluded from the Civil Partnerships bill.

 

The second reading of the Civil Partnership bill, due to take place in the House of Commons on Thursday 16 September, which will give equal rights to many thousands of lesbian and gay couples, has been postponed.

 

Trade Unions have lost their case with the churches in the High Court over employment equality for lesbian and gay people in faith-based organisations.

 

The Conservative party held a "gay summit" in a Westminster committee room on 29 March.

 

A Bill designed to grant gay couples the same rights in law as married heterosexuals will be introduced in the Dublin Senate in April 2004.

According to the latest data from the 2001 census, almost 80,000 people in England and Wales acknowledge living together as "partners" in same-sex relationships.

On 1^st July, the government published its plans to give gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

Following representations from the Archbishop’s Council and other church groups, the government agreed to include a clause in the British version of the European employment directive granting religious organisations the legal right to exclude gay and lesbian people from employment for the first time.

Iain Duncan Smith is facing a damaging double rebellion by Tory MPs and peers
over his attempt to resolve the party's heated debate on gay rights.

Councillors in Darlington, County Durham, are being asked to agree to so-called commitment ceremonies for same sex couples.

In the House of Lords on Tuesday 5th November 2002 peers voted by 215 to 184, a majority of 31 to allow unmarried and gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. In the Court of Appeal, judges ruled that sexual orientation is no grounds for discrimination in a ruling endorsing the tenancy rights of gay couples. The Court of Appeal ruling will give same sex partners equal rights to heterosexuals to take over tenancies when their spouses die.

Gary Streeter, Conservative MP for South West Devon and one of the leading forces on the Christian Conservative Fellowship, is backing moves to have Section 28 repealed. Mr Streeter said: that the clause had become "a totem of hatred and conflict", and that it was time for it to go.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Christine Goodwin, age 65, a previously male bus driver, could change the sex on her birth certificate in order to marry. The Evangelical Alliance expressed concern that families and churches may suffer the after-effects of a transsexual being allowed to alter their birth certificate. after a sex-change operation.

Martin Narey, the Prison Service director general has decided that partners of gay prisoners should  be given special status to allow them to visit their lovers in jail more easily

Lord Lester of Herne Hill, a Liberal Democrat peer, introduced a private member's Bill  on on 10 January 2002 aimed at giving civil partnerships equal rights. A wide-ranging review, which could lead to the removal of questions about whether applicants for state benefits are married and the introduction of legal rights, is currently being conducted across Government. Reports say that the Government is to give fresh attention to reforming the law on unmarried couples, paving the way for radical changes that would include giving more rights to gay people.

On Friday 31 March 2006, Davis MacIyalla and other delegates from Nigeria attending the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference in Geneva met a senior officer of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission to discuss the ‘Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006’ with him.
 

Davis reports that following the introduction of the Bill to the House, he has received emails from friends in Nigeria warning him not to come back to Africa as it is becoming an even more dangerous place for him.
 

The executive Bill seeking to ban same sex relationships in Nigeria entitled “Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006” was introduced to the House of Representatives when the President’s letter was read on the floor of the House by the Deputy Speaker, Hon Austin Oparau.
 

The directors of Changing Attitude England and Nigeria, Colin Coward and Davis MacIyalla, met for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday 27 March 2006 at the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference. In four days together, Davis was able to talk in detail about his work for the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) in his home parish in Port Harcourt and later in the Diocese of Otukpo.
 

Changing Attitude Nigeria counters the teaching and arguments made by the Rt. Rev. David Onuoha, M.A., Bishop of Okigwe South S.E. Nigeria in Nigeria.
 

Changing Attitude has asked that the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in London in March 2006 address the hostile statements issued by the Church of Nigeria about lesbian and gay Anglicans in Nigeria and the Church's support for proposed Government legislation outlawing same-sex marriage and free association of gay people in Nigeria.
 

Many people from the press in Nigeria and from other countries have contacted Davis Mac-Iyalla, Director of Changing Attitude Nigeria asking for comment on the proposed Government Bill outlawing same-sex marriage.
 

Changing Attitude (England) is making public some of the documents sent by Davis MacIyalla to Changing Attitude (England) together with photographs of himself and one photograph of four in our possession taken at the General Meeting held in Abuja.
 

Changing Attitude (England) has recognised Mr MacIyalla as the co-ordinator of Changing Attitude Network (Nigeria). We take accusations made against him very seriously. With the help of Mr MacIyalla and other Nigerians we are compiling a dossier to provide evidence of his truthfulness and integrity to be used in any future legal action.
 

Davis Mac-Iyalla and Changing Attitude Network Nigeria deny the accusations of dishonesty made against them by Canon AkinTude Popoola of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
 

Changing Attitude in London is concerned to learn that Davis Mac-Iyalla and eight members of Changing Attitude Nigeria were arrested and held in Wuse police station, Abuja from 3am Saturday 22 October to Monday 24 October.
 

Changing Attitude Nigeria achieved national awareness today by having an article published in the Daily Sun, Nigeria’s national mass circulation newspaper.
 

The Church of Uganda will arraign gay sympathiser Bishop Christopher Senyonjo before the provincial tribunal if he continues to ask the church to soften its position on homosexuality.
 

A motion was passed unanimously by the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee (a Standing Committee of the Anglican Church of Canada) at its recent meeting. It goes now as a recommendation to the governing body of the Canadian church - the Council of General Synod - that will meet in May to determine Canada's response to the Primates' communiqué.
 

The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church adopted, by nearly unanimous vote late this afternoon, the Covenant Statement that includes "a provisional measure to contribute to a time for healing and for the educational process called for in the Windsor Report".
 

The press are describing the conservative archbishops as having won the first round in the battle for the soul of the Anglican Church on Monday when they “tore up” the agenda of the week-long meeting.
 

The 38 Primates of the Anglican Communion begin their week-long meeting today in Northern Ireland, chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
 

The penultimate draft of a soon-to-be-published book, The Faith Once For all Delivered, has been distributed to the Primates before their meeting and describes the report as "deeply flawed" and as using "slippery rhetoric".
 

The recently published Windsor Report, commissioned by the Primates, reinforced this commitment, reminding all in the Communion of the call for an ongoing process of listening and discernment with lesbian and gay people to be engaged in honestly and frankly. As a matter of urgency, the Primates must now take practical steps to make this happen.
 

A summary of the responses submitted by the member groups of Inclusive Communion to reception reference group in response to the Windsor Report.
 

A gay Ugandan Anglican has been denied a visa to enter Britain in order to attend a meeting at the invitation of the Anglican church on 1 February because there is a warrant for his arrest in his home country where homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment.
 

Anglican archbishops from Africa, Asia and Latin America meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on 28 January said that an apology from the U.S. Episcopal Church did not go far enough to heal the rift among Anglicans over the consecration of the denomination's first openly gay bishop.
 

A rector in Connecticut has announced a moratorium on all weddings in his church, in order to express solidarity with same-sex couples.
 

The Archbishop of Nigeria has denied claims in British newspapers that he ever described homosexuals as ‘lower than beasts’.
 

The Bishop of New Westminster, Rt Rev Michael Ingham, has appointed new wardens and clergy for the congregations of St Simon’s Deep Cover, and Christ the Redeemer, Pender Harbour after the Rectors of both parishes left the diocese and accepted the ecclesiastical oversight of the Archbishop of Rwanda, the Most Rev Emmanuel Kolini.
 

Conservative bishops in the American Church threatened to walk out of the meeting of the US House of Bishops held last week if Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold continues to frustrate attempts to address the Windsor Report.
 

A report by the Associated Press in London, England claimed that Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire (USA) would attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference. Bishop Robinson denies the report and has asked the Associated Press for a retraction.
 

South Africa's leading churches urged President Thabo Mbeki on Saturday to call a referendum on gay marriages, saying a recent court ruling in favour of the unions ignored overwhelming public opposition.
 

The Primate of Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames, has warned in an interview with the Church of England Newspaper that the Communion’s conservative provinces should not expect calls to be answered for the American Church to face discipline for its decision to consecrate the Anglican Communion’s first practising gay bishop or the diocese of New Westminster to be punished for authorising same-sex blessing rites.
 

The Primate of Southern Africa, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, declared that same-sex marriages were “definitely” unchristian in an interview last week.
 

The Archbishop of Central Africa, the Most Revd Bernard Malango, spoke out last week on the issue of homosexuality, saing that those who failed to adhere to Anglican biblical morality by condoning the ordination of gay priests and the blessings of same-sex marriage should not belong to the worldwide Anglican Communion.
 

In an Advent letter to the 37 other Anglican primates around the world sent on Friday, the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, calls for repentance from those who by their use of hostile language towards homosexuals, have contributed to anger and vitriol which can lead to suicide and even murder.
 

We look forward, praying (in the words of one of the most profound of the Christmas collects) 'that we may with sure confidence behold him when he shall come to be our judge.' It is in this context that we are called as Anglican Christians to think about the Windsor Report of the Lambeth Commission chaired by Archbishop Robin Eames.
 

At a special synod at St. James Cathedral on Saturday, November 27, 2004, the Anglican diocese of Toronto voted to defer a decision on approving the blessing of same-sex unions until 2006.
 

In Holland, the newly-formed Protestant Church in the Netherlands will grant blessings to gay couples and ordain female pastors, but will not force local congregations to accept them.
 

Pope John Paul on Saturday urged Christians to be committed to seeking unity of their divided Churches but, in a reference to homosexual clergy in the Anglican communion, said new ethical obstacles had surfaced
 

At the International Symposium of the Martín Azpilcueta Institute of the University of Navarre last week, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, a leading Catholic cardinal repeated the Church's opposition to the legal recognition of same-sex relationships
 

The Most Revd Peter Kwong, Primate of Hong Kong, today released the first details of the reception process being adopted by the Reception Reference Group appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in conjunction with the Primates' Standing Committee on the 20 October
 

On Monday 25 October, over 300 of Africa's Anglican bishops announced plans for a network of theological colleges to promote traditional beliefs, after clashing with some Western churches over what one termed the "abomination" of homosexuality.
 

The Windsor Report gives Changing Attitude powerful encouragement to go on engaging with the Anglican Communion, presenting the rich experience of lesbian and gay people and our need to be treated as equals.
 

A word to the Church - some preliminary reflections regarding the Windsor Report.
 

A coalition of conservative New England Episcopalians announced on 16 October that they are forming four new congregations, including two on Cape Cod, that will not be part of the Episcopal Church USA.
 

The Guardian newspaper today made predictions about the contents of the Windsor Report, to be published on Monday 18 October.
 

The consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and the nomination of Jeffrey John to be Bishop of Reading were two of the most powerful gay-affirming actions ever taken by the Church. The Lambeth Commission threatens to deny this positive action.
 

At the General Synod meeting in Freemantle on 6 October, Australia's Anglicans rejected blessing gay marriages and ordaining ministers in gay relationships, voting to uphold the traditional position that sex outside marriage is wrong.
 

Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria gave a news conference at Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia, a and said that his primary goal is to explore ways to allow American congregations upset over the election to realign themselves under his jurisdiction.
 

The Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, the conservative grouping in the United States, announced its own international relief agency, Anglican Relief and Development (ARD) on Wednesday 29 September.
 

The Church of Uganda respectfully requests the Episcopal Relief and Development fund to not send any grants to any Church of Uganda diocese or institution, including remaining instalments on multi-year grants awarded prior to ECUSA's 2003 General Convention.
 

One member of the Lambeth Commission, the Archbishop of Kaduna, Nigeria, the Most Revd Josiah Iduwo-Fearon in the week ending 25 September compared the American church to a misbehaving child that had to be taught a lesson.
 

The Archbishop of Canterbury  met last autumn with those dissenting from the consecration of Gene Robinson when the term 'network' was suggested as offering one appropriate model to provide support for those dissenting from the resolution but intending to remain within ECUSA's structures.
 

The camera of bishops of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil (IEAB), met in Porto Alegre on Thursday 16^th September, 2004 under the presidency of the Primate, Dom. Orlando Santos Oliveira, to discuss the future of the diocese of Recife.
 

One of the options considered by the Lambeth Commission, whose report will be published on 18 October, is a plan whereby the 60 or so bishops who voted for Canon Gene Robinson to be elected as a bishop will be individually excluded from the next Lambeth Conference.
 

The Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire, the Rt Revd Gene Robinson  told a forum in Manhattan, New York: "We have allowed the conservative religious Right to take our Bible hostage, and I think it’s time we took it back."
 

The Lambeth Commission on Communion announced o 10 September that it is to publish its report in London on Monday 18 October 2004 at the beginning of the meeting in London of the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates’ Meeting and the Anglican Consultative Council.
 

A report by Ruth Gledhill in the Times, based on an article published by David Virtue on his Virtuosity web site based in the USA maintained that Sandy Millar, the retiring vicar of Holy Trinity, Brompton, could be consecrated as a missionary bishop by the Province of Uganda.
 

Writing in the Times on 2 September, Ruth Gledhill predicted that the Episcopal Church in the United States faces exclusion from the worldwide Anglican communion as punishment for ordaining bishop Gene Robinson.
 

Two leading figures in the Anglican Church, Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Ugandan Primate, Archbishop Henry Orombi, have agreed to provide parishes in America who are opposed to their Church’s decision to the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson with oversight
 

Submitted by Changing Attitude, the Lesbian and Gay Clergy Consultation and the Church of England General Synod Human Sexuality Group
 

A report issued on 26 August 2004 aid that at a recent Church summit on the sexuality issue leaders of the Church of North India (CNI) argued that homosexual practice is incompatible with scripture, doctrine, and Indian values.
 

Following claims in the press that the Eames Commission has excluded the voices of gays and lesbians from its deliberations came a further report that internal tensions centring round its Steering Committee and staff may divide the Commission.
 

The South African House of Bishops has for the moment prohibited the blessing of same-sex unions until it has had time for further discussion and study.
 

The Chair of the Commission, the Most Revd Robin Eames, gives some personal reflections on the work of the Commission
 

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada meeting in St Catherines, Ontario, in early June deferred for three years a decision about whether blessing same-sex unions is doctrine.
 

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, has called for the understanding and patience of the Church community in Africa in the wake of criticism by the African Provinces of the ordination of openly gay persons.
 

The chairman of the Lambeth Commission established by the Archbishop of Canterbury following the meeting of Primates and Moderators gives an update on their work.
 

The Primates of the Council of the Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) met in Nairobi on 14 April 2004. They issued a press statement which said, in regard to the sexuality issues.
 

A meeting took place on 29 March 2004 between the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, Primate of Southern Africa and the Most Revd Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria held at Kwa Malusi, 18 Stanley Road, Irene, Pretoria.
 

On Saturday 27 March 2004, moderate and liberal Episcopalians from dioceses that oppose an openly gay bishop called for church members to find common ground and tolerate differing viewpoints so the church can remain whole. The delegates from 11 conservative dioceses said at the conclusion of a three-day meeting in Atlanta they are trying to move past a debate that has caused divisions in the church.

 

Brazilian bishops disapprove of the participation - without permission from the diocesan bishop of Ohio - of the Brazilian Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti, diocesan Bishop of Recife of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, in a confirmation service of 110 people in the state of Ohio.

Protestant and Jewish leaders have praised Gavin Newsom, the Mayor of San Francisco for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Many of the synagogues and churches in the city had already been blessing gay couples with commitment ceremonies.

Bishop John B. Chane of Washington has named two priests — the former national chairman of Integrity, the church's lesbian and gay caucus and a divorced mother of two sons — to head a new diocesan task force on same-sex blessings.

Bishop Gene Robinson has said he would marry his partner “in a minute” if he had the chance. Two days before he become bishop of New Hampshire, he said that the gay marriage issue was one of civil rights.

On Friday 19 March, the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt Revd Gene Robinson took part in his first meeting of the Episcopal Church‘s bishops in Navasota, Texas.

 The Rev. Karen Dammann, a Methodist minister, was put on trial in March at Bothell United Methodist Church for declaring herself a lesbian. She was charged with “practices declared by the United Methodist Church to be incompatible to Christian teachings.''  After about 10 hours of deliberations, the jury of 13 pastors ruled in favour of Karen Dammann.

On Sunday 14 March 2004 six conservative bishops took part in a confirmation service in an Eastern Orthodox church in suburban Akron in the Diocese of Ohio.

A task force appointed by the Canadian House of Bishops, headed by the Bishop of Edmonton, the Rt Revd Victoria Matthews, has recommended the provision of alternate episcopal oversight (AEO) for minorities that dissent from church decisions on the blessing of same-sex relationships.

Protestant and Jewish leaders have praised Gavin Newsom, the Mayor of San Francisco for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Many of the synagogues and churches in the city had already been blessing gay couples with commitment ceremonies.

The first meeting of the Lambeth Commission was held at Windsor Castle from 9-13 February 2004. The Commission released a statement expressing regret at the actions of Provinces which have declared “impaired communion” with the Episcopal Church of the United States of America and the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada.

Archbishop Robin Eames, Primate of all Ireland, chaired the first full meeting this week of the international Commission on Anglican Structures and Relations set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. The meeting in Windsor, England will consider what ways the highest degree of communion and relationship can be maintained given the serious divisions now facing the Anglican Communion.

As the Archbishop of Canterbury's Commission met for the first time, 13 Primates  issued a statement on the current state of affairs in the Anglican Communion. They say the actions of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) in the election, confirmation, and consecration of Canon Gene Robinson have created a situation of grave concern for the entire Anglican Communion and beyond.

The Episcopal Church of Guatemala condemns the participation of the Primate of IARCA, the Most Revd Martin Barahona, in the ceremony of consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson.

The 2008 Anglican Gathering and Lambeth Conference Design Group has been appointed and met for a series of meetings in London in the first week of February.

By the middle of January 2004, nine Provinces of the Anglican Communion had issued formal statements declaring some kind of "impaired communion" with the Episcopal Church over the actions of General Convention and the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson.

In the USA, conservative blacks are objecting to recent comparisons between the gay marriage and civil rights movements, arguing that sexual orientation is a choice. Links between the two struggles were made when the Massachusetts highest court ruled that the state's constitution guarantees gay couples the right to marry. The court cited landmark laws that overturned bans on interracial marriage.

The Commission is to examine and report to by 30th September 2004, in preparation for the ensuing meetings of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, on the legal and theological implications flowing from the decisions of the Episcopal Church (USA) to elect a priest in a committed same sex relationship as one of its bishops, and of the Diocese of New Westminster to authorise services for use in connection with same sex unions.

The Revd Colin Coward, Director of Changing Attitude, said, “From 2^nd November 2003 the Anglican Communion is living with a dramatic new reality. Bishop Gene Robinson’s consecration gives the Anglican church it’s first openly gay, faithfully partnered bishop. His ministry will inspire lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual Christians with new confidence that we have a full place at the communion table of our Lord.

We have become aware in the last several years that gay and lesbian Christians have been starved and denied the spiritual food of acceptance and love they have a right to expect as baptised members of the Body of Christ. This summer at least two dioceses in the Anglican Communion - both beginning with the word "new" - decided to do something about it.

Christopher Senteza writes about homosexuality in Ugandan history, lesbian and gay identity in Uganda now, the work of Integrity Uganda, the problems they have experienced and their vision for the future.

A review of the Primates' statement, identifying elements helpful to the lesbian and gay agenda, reflections on Changing Attitude's preparations and activities during the week, and Gene Robinson's comments made on Sunday 19th October

A number of Primates and dioceses issued statements at the end of the Primates' meeting. Published here are statements from the Presiding Bishop of Ecusa, the Diocese of New Hampshire, the Diocese of New Westminster, the Scottish Primus, the Primates of Nigeria, South East Asia and Rwanda, and the Diocese of Sydney

The Revd Canon Gene V Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire on 7^th June on the 2nd ballot, the first openly gay man in the Episcopal Church to be elected as a bishop.

On 29^th May Bishop Michael Ingham of New Westminster authorised a Rite for the Celebration of Gay and Lesbian Covenants for use by clergy in six parishes within the Diocese.

Nearly 200 advocates of a rite of same-sex blessing gathered at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis Missouri, to develop a strategy in preparation for the next General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2003.

In interviews with journalists on his recent visit to Toronto, the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey said the conflict over homosexuality was threatening to destabilise world Christianity.

A gay couple, Ratan Singher 45, and Jimmy Okello appeared Friday 25 October 2002, before the Chief Magistrates Court in Jinja, East Uganda; on charges of having carnal knowledge of each other against the law of nature. Members of Integrity Uganda, they appeared before the Jinja Chief Magistrate and denied the charges amid heavy media coverage. Prosecution alleged that this was in violation of section 140 ( a ) of Uganda's penal code.

At the 143rd convention of the Diocese of Kansas which took place from 18-19 October in Overland Park, Kansas a resolution opposing Bishop William Smalley's policy of blessings for couples outside of marriage was narrowly defeated in a vote that was characterized by people on both sides of the issue as "prayerful" and "grace-filled."

Meeting in Cleveland from 26 September to 1 October, the American House of Bishops declined to discipline the Bishops of Pittsburgh, Delaware, Kansas and Pennsylvania for "inappropriate behaviour" that many feared could lead to a rupture of the American branch of the Anglican Communion over the issues of homosexuality and Church doctrine and discipline.

Gays and lesbians are being used as scapegoats in the Brazilian in issues that are intrinsically about power.

Resolution 39 of the Church of the Province of South Africa (CPSU) referring strictly to homosexuality and its acceptance by the Anglican church was unanimously passed in Bloemfontein on 26 September 2002 at the annual provincial Anglican senate.

Amnesty International has taken up the cause of three Christian homosexuals jailed and beaten in Uganda for their sexual orientation, who have been finding a refuge in an East Vancouver Anglican church. The Ugandan refugee claimants illustrate the claim made by Vancouver's Anglican bishop that some persecuted homosexual Christians in other parts of the world see Canada's West Coast as a welcoming haven.

A working party of bishops set up by Dr Carey after the 1998 Lambeth Conference, to explore Anglican divisions over sexuality, has agreed, for the time being, to disagree on key issues. The "international conversation" of bishops which met three times under the chairmanship of the Most Revd Frank Griswold, reported that it was "not able to reach a common mind regarding a single pattern of holy living for homosexual people";

Ottawa is expected to be the next Anglican diocese in Canada to consider allowing parishes to bless same-sex relationships, when the Revd Garth Bulmer, rector of St. John the Evangelist church in downtown Ottawa introduces a motion at the diocesan synod, to be held from October 18-19

The Revd Michael Hopkins, President of Integrity USA reports on his visit to the Integrity group in Kampala,Uganda

At its meeting on 17 June 2002 the diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada voted 63 per cent in favour of proposals brought by Bishop Michael Ingham for blessing the unions of gay and lesbian couples.