Today's New York Times reports on the conclusion of the meeting of the Bishops of the Episcopal Church.

Responding to an ultimatum from leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion, bishops of the Episcopal Churchhave rejected a key demand to create a parallel leadership structure toserve the conservative minority of Episcopalians who oppose theirchurchs liberal stand on homosexuality.

The bishops,meeting privately at a retreat center outside Houston, said they wereaware that the stand they were taking could lead to the exclusion ofthe Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion, an internationalconfederation of churches tied to the Church of England.

Theysaid they had a deep longing to remain part of the Communion, butwere unwilling to compromise the Episcopal Churchs autonomy and itscommitment to full equality for all people, including gay men andlesbians.

If that means that others reject us and communion withus, as some have already done, we must with great regret and sorrowaccept their decision, the bishops said in a statement released lateTuesday night. The bishops recommendations will be taken up next bythe churchs executive council, which is expected to generally agree.

The bishops also called for an urgent face to face meeting in theUnited States with the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, the archbishop ofCanterbury and leader of the Church of England, as well as a committeeof the churchs primates, who head the international provinces. Theprimates, at their meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, last month,issued the ultimatum to the Episcopal Church, and imposed a deadlinefor a response of Sept. 30.

The rest of Laurie Goodstein's article may be found here.