Written by John Danforth (Viking Adult, 2006). Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri and an ordained Episcopalian minister, speaks out against the conflation of political agendas with religious views and the religious right’s focus on wedge issues.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a branch of Wesleyan Methodism. It is composed primarily of African Americans. Paul A.G. Stewart is senior bishop at the church’s headquarters in St. Louis, Mo.

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church evolved from the experience of African slaves in America. It is headquartered in North Carolina.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church evolved from the Free African Society.

Lindon Eaves is Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics and Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth School of Medicine in Richmond, Va., and an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Virginia.

Read this July 15, 2009, Chicago Tribune article about the Episcopal Church, the American arm of the Anglican Communion, voting to make gays and lesbians eligible for any ordained ministry.

Claiming the Blessing is a collaborative of organizations and individuals within the Episcopal Church advocating the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

The Consultation is an umbrella organization that gathers a number of Episcopal groups that support a progressive agenda, including gay ordination.

The Oasis is a support ministry for gay Episcopalians. It has chapters in the dioceses of California, Missouri, Newark, Michigan, Rochester and New Jersey. Contact information can be found on each chapter’s website.