The ELCA was following in the footsteps of the Episcopal Church, which had ordained an open homosexual as bishop in 2003, and which adopted a resolution in 2009 to allow individual bishops to decide whether to bless same-sex unions, and would three years later designate an official liturgy for such blessings. With civil law throughout the Western world rapidly redefining marriage to include same-sex couples, many other Protestant groups have followed suit or are in a period of evolution.113
