Anglicans gathering in Winnipeg on Tuesday are facing a deeply divisive decision — the vote on whether their church should bless gay unions.

The same-sex topic is expected to dominate this year's general synod for the Anglican Church of Canada, with delegates opposing the motion, saying the outcome could threaten Canada's place in the international church.

Most of the world's Anglican churches have openly opposed sanctifying same-sex marriage, arguing that such a blessing defies scripture.

"If we go through with this, we're going to be tearing the fabric of the Anglican community worldwide at its deepest level," Calgary-based delegate Sheila Vanderputten told CBC News on Tuesday.

"The primates have really been strong in telling us that we may have to choose to walk apart if we go against our 2,000 years plus of history of Christianity according to scripture."

On Saturday, delegates will vote on a "local parish" option. If it passes, Anglican priests could be allowed to choose whether their individual parish will bless a same-sex couple.

This is the best way to move forward, gay Vancouver delegate Steven Schuh said from Winnipeg, arguing that passing the motion would in fact be an unfolding of the gospel according to Anglicans. The Anglican Diocese of New Westminster in B.C. became the first national synod to begin blessing same-sex unions in June 2002.

'Tears down barriers'

"Jesus was encouraging us to move forward not just in love, but in a way that tears down barriers between people, race and culture, and also gender, and that's also an area where we feel we're right on the cusp," he said.

Rev. Michael Fleming, an Ottawa pastor, compared the polarizing debate within the church to the decision the church faced 35 years ago over the issue of the ordination of women.

"It was sent back to the dioceses, and some dioceses joyfully ordained women and others did not, and you could have two dioceses sitting side by side, and disagreeing on the issue and still being a church together," Fleming said.

Lutherans to hold same debate

Regardless of the decision, though, Fleming said the more difficult question to answer is how to deal with the faithful who will, "because of their integrity, feel that they no longer can be a part of the Anglican Church.

"Some will say we've gone too far, others will say we haven't gone far enough," he said. "How do we say goodbye?"

The Anglican Church of Canada's general synod, which ends June 25, convenes every three years. The country's third-largest religious denomination includes about two million Canadians.

Same-sex marriages will also be a hot topic for the Lutheran Church in Canada this week, when about 400 delegates from across the country convene in Winnipeg for a biennial national convention. The two-day meeting will begin on Thursday.