I watched the live stream from the House of Deputies this afternoon, from home, and watched #GC77 fly past on Twitter, as debate ensued and resolutions were proposed to amend Resolution A049  “Authorize Liturgical Resources for Blessing Same-Gender Relationships.” Opponents proposed several amendments, all of which were defeated.It was a long, well-debated process, handled with grace and with at least one stop for centering, discerning prayer.

A vote by orders was called, which meant that deputies of the laity and clergy deputies would be tallied separately in the end. Katie Sherrod tweeted this picture immediately after the vote:

Yes, folks, that’s a clear voice of inclusion from the Fort Worth deputation.

It took FOREVER for the electronic votes to be tallied; why, only God knows! The House moved on to other business, namely, nominating people for the vice-president of the House of Deputies. Meanwhile, the clock ticked. As the last action before recess, the results of the A049 vote were announced:

Lay:      yes=86, no=19, divided=5;  78% voted yes
Clergy: yes=84, no=22,  divided=4; 76% voted yes

Pretty clear, isn’t it?

Shock, joy, tears, leaping, outrage were all sentiments expressed in the twitterverse on this historic vote. At this point, Episcopal legislation is complete; a liturgy has passed both houses of General Convention and will become available for use later this year. The name of the liturgy is, “I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing.”

Members of the Universal Christian Church (UCC) reminded the #gc77 Twitterverse today that they were the first mainstream protestant church to openly bless same-sex unions.  Well, now there are two churches.