The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume ǡ ǡ ǡ Ǥ ”8 The first women were admitted as delegates to General Convention in 1970 In 1976, the General Convention adopted a new Book of Common Prayer, which was a substantial revision and modernization of the previous 1928 edition It incorporated many principles of the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgical movement, which had been discussed at Vatican II, as well as influences from the Eastern Orthodox tradition of Christianity This version was adopted as the official prayer book in 1979 (after an initial three-year trial use) A few conservative parishes, however, continued to use the 1928 version.9 The 1976 General Convention also passed a resolution calling for an end to apartheid in South Africa and in 1985 called for dioceses, institutions, and agencies to create equal opportunity employment and affirmative action policies to address any potential racial inequities in clergy placement The Episcopal Church also affirmed at the General Convention that homosexuals are children of God who deserve acceptance and pastoral care from the church and equal protection under the law They wanted to make sure that people of alternative lifestyles were welcomed and cared for by the church Despite the affirmation of gay rights, the General Convention affirmed in 1991 that “physical sexual expression” is only appropriate within the monogamous, lifelong “union of husband and wife.”10 These two seemingly contradictory rulings were designed to express compassion without condoning the lifestyle choices, much the same as other Christian denominations have done Also at the General Convention in 1976, they approved the admission of women to the ordained ministry The first women were canonically ordained to the priesthood in 1977 The first female bishop, Barbara Harris, was consecrated on February 11, 1989 These actions provoked widespread contention, causing some church members to leave for other churches or to establish a new church, the The first openly homosexual priest, Ellen Barrett, was ordained in 1977 The first openly homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson, was 121