The Union of Black Episcopalians, which planned to bring as many as 600 church leaders to Cincinnati for a convention in July, has canceled its national meeting.

        Church leaders would not say whether their decision was related to the boycott of Cincinnati. Two other African-American church groups — the National Progressive Baptist Convention and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church — have decided to honor the boycott called by some civil rights groups.

        An e-mail forwarded Monday from church members to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau and the mayor's office said only that the cancellation was “due to the climate and current conditions in Cincinnati.”

        Former Cincinnati Councilman Tyrone K. Yates, senior warden of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Evanston, is the acting chapter president of the group.

        “The organization is not releasing a public statement, for several reasons,” he said. “We do not want to detract from the progress that the city has recently made, while at the same time we feel that there is more progress ahead.”

        The low-key way in which the Episcopalian group has made its intentions known has confounded the management of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, which was set to host the event.

        “I haven't heard anything officially from them that they're canceling,” said Michel Sheer, the hotel's president. “I have a signed contract with them. So as far as I know, they're coming to enjoy the city and we'll be glad to have them.”

        The convention bureau estimated that the event would have had an economic impact of about $516,000.

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