Last month, the Episcopal Church made headlines when national Episcopalian leaders at national convention elected their first gay bishop. Immediately following the decision, talk of a possible separation with the church started. In opposition of the decision, congregations declared they would withhold donations to diocese offices and in the most drastic cases — some threatened separation.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Harbor was among the churches to go public in late August with its opposition to the election of a sexually active gay bishop at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Minneapolis.

“We need to clearly inform people where we stand,” said the Rev. Carol Harlacher, rector of St. Stephen’s.

According to Harlacher, Oak Harbor Episcopalians stand firmly against the Aug. 5 decision to elect the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, who will preside over the Diocese of New Hampshire.

Harlacher describes the gay bishop decision as “a clear departure from biblical faith and the historic teachings of the Christian Church.”

St. Stephen’s plans to send a delegation to a meeting of the American Anglican Council Oct. 7-9 in Plano, Texas, where conservative churches will discuss what to do in their opposition. “The Episcopal Church has been moving farther and farther away from biblical truth and we can no longer be seen as upholding actions that clearly have no biblical basis,” Harlacher said.

“To use the words of St. Paul, ‘God will not be mocked’. It is a grave time for the Episcopal Church.”

But while St. Stephen’s is opposed to the decision, St. Augustine’s in the Woods Episcopal parish in Freeland seems anything but.

“The decision is very significant and it moves forward with the identity of the Episcopal church to actually act on what we claim,” said the Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton, rector of St. Augustine’s.

“It is just one of a number of changes in the life of the Episcopal church that began with the ordainment of women and will continue,” Taber-Hamilton said of what he called a “new beginning” for the church.

The issue was not an issue for the Freeland congregation. In fact, the war in Iraq was a bigger hot button for St. Augustine’s than the subject of same-sex relationships and the appointment of a gay bishop.

“This an open and welcoming congregation willing to talk in conversation and agree to disagree but still remain connected,” Taber-Hamilton said. “Part of any congregation’s identity is formed by who leads the congregation. My predecessor gifted this church an understanding of tolerance and the ability to handle the tension of disagreement.”

His predecessor, the Rev. Bill Burnett, feels much he same way. Retired in 1998 after 29 years as rector of St. Augustine’s, he remains close to the congregation whose vestry gave him the title of rector emeritus in 2001. During his three decades with St. Augustine’s, Bennett actively supported the gay community of South Whidbey.

For Burnett, the general convention’s decision is welcomed and comes as no surprise.

“This is very radical, but not unusual for a church that has seen hundreds of changes in its history,” he said. “Our church is known for being intellectuals and has generally has reflected society which is constantly changing.”

The decision in August left many Episcopalians experiencing deja-vu to a quarter century ago when the Episcopal Church struggled with the issue of appointing female priests.

Taber-Hamilton’s wife, Rachel, is a beneficiary of the 1976 decision. She is a transitional deacon and will be ordained in January. Although only in junior high at the time of the decision, Rachel Taber-Hamilton said she paid attention to the decision then and can see the parallels now.

“In terms of church and culture it’s pressing the same boundaries and what people feel is the identity of the church,” she said.

Taber-Hamilton sees irony in women like the Rev. Harlacher, who are direct beneficiaries from the first landmark decision, objecting to the decision for gays.

However, Harlacher has rejected any comparison between the plight of women and gays.

“In Christ there is neither male nor female,” she said, again quoting St. Paul. “But Paul called homosexuality sin. The moral law didn’t change.”

Rachel Taber-Hamilton doesn’t understand that viewpoint.

“Anyone who’s against the decision hasn’t had a ministeral relationship with an openly gay person, and if they could see that humanity there’s really nothing in the way,” she said.

Fletcher Davis, a retired Episcopal priest who lives in Freeland, voted for womens’ admission to the priesthood in 1976. When not busy filling in for vacationing priests at other churches, Davis attends St. Augustine’s.

He said the general opinion among St. Augustine’s parishioners “is pretty different than what you’re getting from Carol (Harlacher),” who he described as a friend.

“Most are proud of their church for stepping up to bat on an issue that would be far easier to duck,” Davis said.

At the Minneapolis convention, Episcopal church leaders additionally approved a measure on blessing same-sex couples, but they rejected the idea of creating an official liturgy for gay ceremonies.

Davis said the leaders did the right thing in approving the gay bishop and blessing gay unions, but stopping short of approving gay marriage.

“The balance impressed me,” he said. “Gay marriage is happening locally, but not with the full authority of the church.”

Davis personally knows Bishop Robinson, and said he is in an committed gay relationship. This long-term commitment is important to Davis.

“The church frowns on promiscuity wherever it happens.”

Additionally, in Harlacher’s view, a gay orientation doesn’t preclude a person from church leadership positions, as long as he or she remains celibate.

Though not in agreement on the gay bishop issue, the Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton said he called Harlacher Tuesday to “wish her well, to say he’d pray for her and her congregation,” adding he hoped conversation between the two churches would continue.

He prefers St. Stephen’s wouldn’t leave the fold of the Episcopal Church, calling the possible loss of a “lively part of the church” a great tragedy.

And while a possibility, his wife doubts a split.

“The Episcopal church formed from a split during the reformation, so you can’t say another split won’t happen. However, there is more that holds us than separates,” she said.

Her husband is adament to remind people this is a conversation that is occurring and not a debate as labeled or viewed by some.

“Debates are fixed with people not changing their minds or the minds of others. Dialogues allow people to learn, share, and maybe even change their minds a little,” he said.

Rachel Taber-Hamilton said she thinks the decision will give the Episcopal church strength, even if it remains a split-stance.

“Unity doesn’t equal conformity, but historically our strength has been our ability to embrace a broadness of opinions,” she said. “Church is like marriage, at any point people can walk away, but it needs to be done with integrity and thought.”