The loss of such a connection would be deeply felt in the Church, but would be a non-issue for the nation, Bishop Robinson said, despite the Episcopal Church's history of leadership disproportionate to its numbers - only one per cent of the US population.

"My hope is that our gifts and our passions and our faith are important to the rest of the world as well."

A belief that the Primates do not necessarily speak for their provinces is something he passionately wants to convey. "It's a fallacy to assume that Peter Akinola speaks for the Communion. Will a listening process change Peter Akinola' s mind about this issue? Probably not.

"It's no surprise to me that Peter Akinola has trouble comprehending the context in which we find ourselves in America. To be a homosexual in Nigeria is to be arrested and imprisoned; so how would Peter ever have the opportunity to meet a faithful and loyal and prayerful Anglican who also happens to be gay or lesbian, and get to know them and have his heart changed by that?"

Bishop Robinson has no doubt that the danger facing the Communion is serious and deep, but he does not believe that the American Church is heading towards "an inevitable trainwreck". "We are irreconcilable only if we choose to be. Reconciliation is the ministry we are all called to, and so to declare ourselves out of communion with one another is simply an infraction against God."

The rest of the world does not understand how the US Church works, he said. "In our polity, the Church speaks only when the laity, the clergy, and the bishops speak at the General Convention. It's what makes our Church so very different from the provinces of the Anglican Communion."

Knowing the consequences of his consecration, would he have done anything differently? He paused and reflected: "It's very difficult to say. On the one hand, we have learned that to make such a momentous decision without more consultation was perhaps inappropriate on our parts. But you have to understand, that consultation could not have happened until I was elected, and no one knew I was going to be elected. Being nominated is easy; being elected is hard.

"All I can tell you is that the General Convention prayerfully and thoughtfully considered this and agonised over it. It was not some flippant or mindless or prayerless action."

He acknowledges that he could be wrong and maybe should not even be speculating, but his personal view is that he does not see the American Church moving backwards. "I can't be unmade a bishop," he said. "We will continue to nourish these relationships around the globe, and trust that the communion that is there will actually win over the voices that are speaking for division."

The Archbishop of Canterbury was in a "nearly impossible position", he conceded. "I think he's doing what needs to be done, and exactly what an Archbishop of Canterbury should do: working to hold the Anglican Communion together. I think he's working on that night and day."

If he had not been consecrated, would the Anglican Communion be in the position it finds itself now? "I agree with the many, many voices who said this was a divide looking for a reason to happen. Perhaps it provided some fuel to the fire, but much of the divide we see was in the making long before anyone heard of Gene Robinson."

PINK-SASHED volunteers manned the doors, but there were no protesters at Saturday's service to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Changing Attitude, where the Anglican Communion's first openly homosexual bishop had been invited to speak.

Restrictions had been imposed on the visit of the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Rt Revd Gene Robinson. It was very important that "we keep to the ground rules," as agreed with the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, said the Revd Nicholas Holtam, the Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, where the service was held. "Bishop Robinson will be one among us during the service and will speak afterwards."

On the Thursday evening, Bishop Robinson met informally with the Archbishop of Canterbury as part of the Archbishop's commitment to listening to all sides of the debate in the Anglican Communion about homosexuality. No details of the meeting were released.

Speaking just before the service, one of the Changing Attitude trustees said there had been heavy pressure from conservative Evangelicals in London diocese to try to stop the service, or at least to move it from church premises.

"They lobbied the Bishop of London, but we have been careful with the ground rules. Bishop Robinson is not here with his cope and mitre, and I think it is very interesting there are no protesters."

About 400 people attended the service, most in support of Changing Attitude, which works "for gay and lesbian affirmation within the Anglican Church", but some came simply to hear Bishop Robinson.

Bishop Robinson processed up the aisle with other clergy, but took no part until the service was finished. Dressed informally in a suit with purple shirt and clerical collar, he spoke for an hour, including time for questions.

"I am not here to talk about a social agenda, as many fear, nor to grind an axe, but to witness to the good things of God." He shared "snapshots" from his life - how his marriage had failed and how he had publicly admitted he was gay - as well as from when he first felt God had called him to the epsicopate.

He spoke openly about the reaction to his election as bishop, first in the diocese and then when the General Convention ratified it. He said the death threats, hate mail, and media attention had been particularly hard for his two daughters, one of whom had just become a mother, and he had continually sought solace in scripture.

"At the General Convention there are normally a few reporters bored to tears. The year I was elected, there were 375."

He spoke of "the humiliation in the UK of Jeffrey John", now Dean of St Albans, over his selection and then withdrawal as Bishop of Reading. "I got an amazing email from him, that after what he had been through he would have been very disappointed if I stood down." He added that he had met Dr John for the first time at a Changing Attitude reception on the previous evening.

He finished by advising Changing Attitude members not to get caught up beyond everything else with the issue of sexuality. "Work on your own stuff. Coming out is just the beginning. Offer your gifts to the Church, not just your sexuality. Do not talk about homosexuality and Gene Robinson, but talk about God. You must have other issues, including not forgetting the poor."

END