A little over a week before the Supreme Court's decision went into effect, Andrus wrote to his clergy, urging them "to encourage all couples, regardless of orientation, to follow the pattern of first being married in a secular service, and then being blessed in the Episcopal Church." The Episcopal Church formally forbids same-sex marriage, but many Episcopal clergy have for years been performing blessings of same-sex unions.

Andrus is a supporter of same-sex marriage. He has called on Episcopalians to oppose Proposition 8, a November ballot initiative that would amend the California constitution to forbid same-sex marriages. Andrus encouraged his clergy to help San Francisco officials conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies when they became formally legal (though the ministers were not allowed to wear clerical garb when they officiated).

Andrus' proposed model, which is similar to that of many European and Latin American countries, would remove his U.S. clergy from serving as representatives of the civil government at weddings. It would also equalize his church's treatment of traditional and same-sex marriages.

The proposal pleased the Very Rev. Brian Baker, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento. Baker believes performing weddings has become "trying," according to the July 1 Sacramento Bee. "There are a lot of benefits in getting out of the legal marriage business," said Baker. "This way the clergy and the couple can focus on the spiritual blessings the church has to offer and not the political stuff."

Performing legal marriages "makes some ministers uncomfortable, because we're performing a civil function," Kent Carlson of Oak Hills Church in Folsom told the Bee. "Most of us are pastors first."

But George Raya, a member of Integrity, the support group for homosexuals in the Episcopal Church, said he thinks Andrus' idea is merely a "way of getting around treating us equally. As soon as we can get married, they want us to get blessed? A lot of us would like to get married in church."

Indeed, many want to get married in a church, to which they subsequently never return. "They want to get married," said Baker, "so they pick a church but don't go after the ceremony. We never see them again."

One of the most popular venues for weddings (which will not be hosting same-sex marriage ceremonies any time soon) is the Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento. In high demand (it is booked for most of the year), the cathedral charges $2,300 per wedding, a price that includes fees for an organist and wedding coordinator.

END