Placing both hands on the fabric covering the table, one of the women says,

"We thank you, Mother, for the hands that wove this cloth. May her life be rich and full. We thank you for the colors, the textures, and the patterns that cover our sacred time and places. We thank you for the wisdom of the weaver’s art, the glory of the interplay of thread and cord. May we be woven together with cords of love and trust as we weave the vision of our lives."

The global Anglican church is deeply divided over same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay priests, with Akinola leading a conservative African church that is highly critical of dioceses condoning them.

"The Western world is embroiled in a new religion which we cannot associate ourselves with," said Akinola, who is also the continental chair of the Anglican bishops. "We have to find ways of developing our own theology."

"I know it sounds cliché but this whole current flap is really the straw that broke the camel's back, though it is not the real base issue," Dorman said.

That issue is the understanding and interpretation of Scripture. "And there's no doubt in my mind that most of Christianity ... support the authority of Scripture - certainly more strictly than does the Diocese of Massachusetts," he said.

Speaking at a press briefing today, Archbishop Peter Akinola, the Primate of Nigeria and Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), said Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo would officially open the conference on Wednesday, October 27.