The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles will elect two suffragan bishops during is Diocesan Convention this weekend and will be voting from a pool of six candidates that includes two openly gay ministers.

The selection of one or both of the gay candidates – the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool of Baltimore – would mark the first election of a bishop in a same-sex relationship since V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, whose election in 2003 strained relations between The Episcopal Church and the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

In October, the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota was in a similar position, having had an actively gay minister as one of three nominees for bishop. By the end of the Oct. 31 Diocesan Convention in Minneapolis, however, it was the Rev. Brian Prior who was elected as the diocese’s eighth bishop, not the Rev. Bonnie Perry.

According to the LA diocese, the initial election for the two new suffragan bishops - who will assist the diocese's bishop - is set for Friday. Ballot results will be posted in the diocese’s website, ladiocese.org, in real time as they become available.

The diocese’s convention, which starts Friday, concludes Saturday.

Its theme is “Faith & Our Future: Coming Home."

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