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ClCTB_button_logo_602x600aiming the Blessing [CTB] was convened in 2002 as an intentional collaborative of organizations and individuals within the Episcopal Church advocating for full inclusion of all the baptized in all sacraments of the church.

The collaborative included leading Episcopal justice organizations (Integrity, Oasis, Beyond Inclusion and the Episcopal Women’s Caucus) in partnership with the Witness magazine and other individual leaders in the Episcopal Church focused on: promoting wholeness in human relationships, abolishing prejudice and oppression, and healing the rift between sexuality and spirituality in the Church.

Since 2002, our advocacy has included liturgies for the blessing of same-sex relationships, equal access to all orders of ministry by qualified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender candidates and supporting civil and sacramental marriage equality.

In 2015 we saw extraordinary progress toward the goal of ending marriage discrimination in the Episcopal Church when the 78th General Convention — meeting in Salt Lake City — adopted resolutions that amended our canons on marriage and approved liturgies for equal use by same and opposite sex couples.

While there is inarguably still work to do to eradicate homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ people in the church and in the world, 2015 was a watershed year — bringing civil marriage equality to the United States and sacramental marriage equality to the Episcopal Church.

In 2018 our work turned to both securing and implementing those advances and making sure that your zip code does not define whether or not your marriage receives equal blessing by the church or equal protection by the Constitution. At our 79th General Convention in Austin that work included advocating for legislative advances guaranteeing equal access to marriage across the Episcopal Church and to amplifying the voices of those who had been “left behind” in the eight (out of 101) dissenting dioceses.

Much was accomplished in Austin — and having now “claimed the blessing” legislatively we continue to be committed to the work of living it out incarnationally. La lucha continua.