A Thorn in the Flesh: How Gay Sexuality is Changing the Episcopal Church explores how and why the full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians in all the rites of the church, including ordination and marriage, has proven so explosive and divisive. Caroline J. Addington Hall, a lesbian priest in the Episcopal Church, discusses how homosexuality has been used by leaders in the cultural struggles for the soul of America and how it has brought the Episcopal Church to the brink of schism. From churches in Africa to those in America, this important book digs deeply into provocative questions of sexuality for the Episcopal Church.