 The diocese did not ordain women to the presbyterate, but does have two female deacons.As of 2006 it was one of three dioceses in the Episcopal Church that did not ordain women; the other two were the Diocese of San Joaquin, whose convention voted to secede from the Episcopal Church in December 2007, and the Diocese of Fort Worth, whose convention voted in November 2008 to secede.In 2006, the diocese issued a news release saying that it was "unwilling to accept the leadership" of the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and passed resolutions asking for "alternative pastoral oversight" and withdrawing consent to be included in Province 5 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.