Spencer said in a letter this week to church parishioners that the ritual did not include the use of the Book of Common Prayer, a formal liturgy or vestments.

She said Thursday that she wanted to explain the matter to parishioners before they read it in the newspaper.

"I did not intend to deceive or hurt anyone," Spencer wrote in the letter.

Compare this with A134’s companion, Resolution A135, prepared by the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee, which would authorize “resources for the church to use in addressing issues relating to human sexuality, including the blessing of same sex unions and the changing definition of marriage in society”. Resolution A135 states the matter with a greater candor: the discussion about blessing gay couples is related to a “changing definition of marriage in society”.

That would effectively postpone a decision on the issue many predict will fracture the 77-million-strong world-wide Anglican communion.

"My gut hunch feeling as an old hand at watching this kind of stuff is I'm
not sure there are enough votes for the local option to pass at this time," Spence told The Spectator.

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY is sitting in a chair in the State Room of Lambeth Palace, his face rigid with tension. He hates posing for photographs, so I try engaging him in conversation while our photographer snatches a few shots. For a moment or two Rowan Williams’s face becomes lively and expressive, but as soon as he stops talking it sets again in a concrete grimace, bracing itself against the intrusion of the lens.