They're bloggers -- writers of Internet weblogs ("blogs," for short) -- whose readers respond with comments for posting online.   

Together they populate the "blogosphere," a communication environment that, spiritually speaking, includes content that comes as fresh air to some and rhetorical smog to others.

But an informal sampling of blogs shows that Episcopalians, for the most part, blog to build Christian community. Mainly, these blogs are virtual locations for gathering groups of people who love their church and express that love in diverse ways. A few writers may sow discord, yet most work to widen connections and collegiality that might otherwise remain untapped.

Minnesota lay leader Sara McGinley and her husband, the Rev. Aron Kramer, discovered an outpouring of online support when their 3-year-old son, Eliot, was diagnosed with leukemia. "I now know people from far across the church because they have somehow found my blog, or I've found theirs – it's really quite stunning," McGinley said.

The Diocese of South Carolina's canon theologian, the Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon, created a news-aggregation blog, TitusOneNine, that is likely one of the best known and most prolific in any denomination.

The Rev. Phina Borgeson, a deacon in the Diocese of Northern California, recently marked World Food Day on Just Gleanings, her blog devoted to "food security, agriculture sustainability, wholesome local and seasonal eating from a faith perspective."

The Rev. Timothy Fountain, rector of Good Shepherd Church in Sioux Falls, S.D., is known online as a commentator on other blogs. His posts spark far-reaching response and resonance with his writings and deeply held beliefs about biblical authority. 

Worldwide connections
"I never thought of myself as a blogger," Fountain said, "but I commented on a bunch of other blogs, and it certainly helped connect with other folks. I've received e-mails and letters from all over the world, and this has been a blessing."

Fountain's wry humor catches the attention of folks on all sides of the Anglican Communion's current discussion of theology and sexuality. "Good Shepherd parish is likely to face a split on September 15th," he recently opined online. "That's when the Nebraska Cornhuskers host the University of Southern California Trojans in Lincoln. Most Good Shepherd parishioners are solid Nebraska fans, but the rector … is a graduate of USC."

Fountain went on to note that he and fellow blogger Brad Drell -- lay leader, prison minister, attorney, and Louisiana State fan -- would keep an eye on both USC and LSU after the teams ranked first and second in the Bowl Championship Series.

Meanwhile, in her advocacy on behalf of lesbian and gay Episcopalians, Integrity USA's president, the Rev. Susan Russell, a senior associate at All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif., engages her blog to raise awareness and seek comment.

The variety of blogs offered by Episcopalians is reflected on the news-aggregation site epiScope, moderated by the Rev. Jan Nunley, executive editor of Episcopal Life Media. With the goal of "looking over" the church, epiScope lists links to more than 80 blogsites with editorial viewpoints found to be "eyes right," "eyes center," or "eyes left."

Bishops, too, are beginning to engage blogging as a spiritual forum. Support for chaplains on active duty in Iraq is among topics frequently addressed by the Episcopal Church's bishop for chaplaincies, the Rt. Rev. George Packard.

Bishop Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations, also blogs, as do Bishop Stephen Charleston, dean and president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and diocesan bishops Marc Andrus of California, George Councell of New Jersey and Charles Jenkins of Louisiana.

Gaining trust
Readers grow to trust a blogger's credibility based on the number of other bloggers producing worthwhile information who link to that blog, said Dave Kim, blogger and global sales intranet manager of Symantec Corporation, based in Cupertino, Calif. The more that other bloggers or trusted websites link to a blog, the more likely readers are to return there for information, he said, noting blog trust is similar to brand loyalty.

"Blogs in and of themselves are rarely reliable," Kim said in an interview conducted via online instant messaging. "They must have other sources — links to groups talking about the same issues. Over time, you grow to trust blogs for different reasons. Some group blogs you simply grow to rely on over time: i.e., reading Gizmodo.com for tech news."

Harmon's TitusOneNine -- named for the New Testament Scripture reference ("He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.") -- has become this sort of group blog, which typically generate much higher web traffic than a personal blog. Stand Firm, a voice for "traditional Anglicanism in America," is also known to have similarly strong reader response.

As a news aggregation site, TitusOneNine consists mostly of links to news stories from sources all over the Internet. The frequent posts of news stories are only the half of it. Perhaps the biggest draw on TitusOneNine is the community of commenters who come from all points on the Anglican-Episcopal political spectrum -- with a majority expressing ideas and opinions from a more conservative viewpoint.

To classify each side of the debate, Harmon coined two labels that have extended into broader debate in the church: "reappraisers" and "reasserters." He defines reappraisers as "those who believe the biblical and traditional witness in sexual ethics needs to [be] reappraised in the light of new knowledge" and reasserters as "those who are more than willing to dig again into the foundation sources and thereby to reassert the standard which is still ironically officially unchanged in the Episcopal Church today."

The sheer volume of content posted daily on TitusOneNine is a testimony to the vitality of the blogosphere. Many have asked how Harmon, also the editor of Anglican Digest, keeps up. His answer: "web elves," or trusted helpers.

Frequently visited 'Cafe'
A virtual newcomer, but already a frequently visited site, is Episcopal Café. (See article, above.) The Café is the brainchild of author and journalist Jim Naughton (The New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, ESPN), who is now canon for communication and advancement for the Diocese of Washington.

Episcopal Café is what some call a group blog, because it is managed by a fairly substantial and geographically far-flung group of writers, editors and news aggregators. One striking difference between the Café and other blogs is its requirement that people who post comments on articles use their full names. This is an attempt to keep the discourse civil and an air of accountability for comments made on the site, Naughton said.

"If people don't want to put their names on a response, then I don't want to read it," he added.

On blogs that "allow anonymous comments -- people can speak from the id without having to worry about being held accountable," Naughton said when asked whether blogs had benefited discourse in the Episcopal Church.

"I don't discount that this is sometimes liberating," he said, "but if you can be anonymously vicious in a community of people who are anonymously vicious, then you have a sort of cyber-tribalism."

If current tension in the Anglican Communion is the grist for blogs like TitusOneNine or the more progressive Fr. Jake Stops the World, the Café would prefer to see it as but one topic among many worthy of consideration.