The bishops of The Episcopal Church (TEC) last week issued a statement in support of the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, following Bishop Robinson's rejection of a highly qualified invitation to attend the Lambeth Conference in July.

Three TEC bishops - Ed Little of Indiana, Bruce Caldwell of Wyoming, and Tom Ely of Vermont - had petitioned the staff of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to allow Bishop Robinson the right to pray with other bishops during a retreat and to have a voice in discussions on sexuality. The archbishop's office instead offered Bishop Robinson a spot at the conference's exhibition forum, or "Marketplace", and said he could attend a media conference - a proposal that Bishop Robinson considered a "non-offer".

"It feels as if, instead of leaving the 99 sheep in search of the one, the Archbishop of Canterbury has cut me out of the herd," Bishop Robinson told a meeting of the Episcopal House of Bishops in Texas last week.

In their statement the TEC bishops said they were "mindful of the hurt that is being experienced by so many in our own Episcopal Church ... While the focus of this hurt seems centred on issues of human sexuality, beneath it we believe there is a feeling of marginalisation by people of differing points of view."

They went on: "Even though we did not all support the consecration of the Bishop of New Hampshire, we acknowledge that he is a canonically elected and consecrated bishop in this Church. We regret that he alone, among bishops ministering within the territorial boundaries of their dioceses and provinces, did not receive an invitation to attend the Lambeth Conference."

Bishop Robinson urged his supporters to still attend in his absence, and said that he would be in Canterbury for the duration of the conference.