The Episcopal Church {proposal] is… a “lifelong covenant.” Clergy in dioceses with sympathetic bishops have been blessing gay couples for decades, but the proposal is to permit a trial run of an official liturgy.

This weekend, 3,000 Presbyterians will arrive in Pittsburgh to debate and vote on issues critical to the Presbyterian Church (USA), with proposals related to gay marriage and same-sex couples at the top of the agenda.

A few days later, the Episcopal Church will open its triennial General Convention in Indianapolis, with a proposed rite for same-sex blessings also high on the agenda. Both denominations have 1.9 million members, and have lost hundreds of parishes as both debated and eventually adopted local option on gay ordination.

Both the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Presbytery had a history of opposition to same-sex unions and gay ordination. But the Episcopal Diocese split in 2008, with the majority leaving the denomination, though some conservative clergy stayed. Pittsburgh Presbytery has lost three congregations over issues of sexuality and biblical authority, and four churches are known to be considering leaving.

“The marriage issue, depending how the vote goes, has the potential to be very, very distressing to some of our congregations,” said the Rev. Sheldon Sorge, pastor to Pittsburgh Presbytery, which has 148 churches with 37,000 members in Allegheny County.

“It would not surprise me at all if some congregations would see [approval of same-sex relationships] as the straw that broke the camel’s back, for them to leave the denomination,” he said.

The Presbyterian General Assembly, which meets Saturday through July 7 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, will consider conflicting proposals on sexuality issues. There are proposals to bless same-sex marriages, but also to reinforce an existing ban. Some overtures seek to overturn the year-old local option on gay ordination, while others seek to prevent conservative presbyteries from explicitly saying that gay clergy need not apply.

The denomination’s internal surveys show deep division on gay marriage. In February, 51 percent of members opposed same-sex marriage, 34 percent approved and the rest were undecided. Attitudes reversed among pastors, where 49 percent support same-sex marriage and 41 percent oppose it.

A survey of Presbytery executives by Presbyterian Outlook magazine found that on average 7 percent of their congregations had either left since January 2011 or were considering doing so. They believed that approving same-sex marriage would cause another 11 percent to leave.

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