United Methodists, winnowed by conservative exodus, embrace LGBTQ inclusivity

United Methodist delegates voted Thursday to make the denomination, which has skewed leftward in the wake of mass defections by conservative-leaning congregations, more gay- and LGBTQ-friendly.

By a 523-161 vote, delegates to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, voted to drop a decadeslong definition of marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman and struck language saying homosexual practice “is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

Delegates were expected to approve same-sex wedding ceremonies and/or blessings of same-sex unions in local congregations on Friday, the last day of the gathering.

The moves to overturn established policies on homosexuality will likely lead to a further schism. At the end of last year, the denomination lost 25% of its U.S. churches, or more than 7,600 mostly conservative congregations.

Leaders of the UMC’s African churches, considered to have the majority of the denomination’s 4 million overseas members, said they would go home “with important decisions to make regarding the future.”

Homosexuality is condemned and even criminalized across much of the African continent.

In a statement, the African leaders said, “We do not accept a change in the definition of marriage, and we will never accept marriage as anything other than one man and one woman. … We are devastated now to be part of a denomination that officially contradicts the Bible’s teaching on marriage and sexual morality.”

Gay rights advocates in the church rejoiced at the changes.

“It’s been 40 years of work for me and others to remove the incompatibility clause from our Social Principles and really live in our belief that all people are sacred,” said Randall Miller, chairman of the Social Principles task force that spurred the changes, according to the UM News service.

Mr. Miller, who is gay, said he was “deeply grateful, and it’s wonderful to have come to this moment.”

Approval of new language for the church’s revised Social Principles document, which is not church law but states the UMC’s public positions, did not come easily. Debate lasting nearly 90 minutes preceded the vote, and delegates approved a wording change that retained a gender-specific reference in the marriage definition.

The statement now reads, “Within the church, we affirm marriage as a sacred lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith [adult man and woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age] into union with one another.”

Molly Hlekani Mwayera, a UMC delegate from Zimbabwe, called the change “a double-barrel” marriage definition that would comply with the law in nations outside the U.S., including her country.

On Wednesday, delegates revoked a ban on “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from serving as ministers.

The church, with 9.9 million members, is now in line with the other inclusive mainline Protestant denominations in the United States,  including the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The American Baptist Church, also considered in the grouping, has taken a neutral position.

Although United Methodists have debated the question of homosexuals in the ministry for years, a 2019 special legislative session triggered the latest schism and this week’s actions.

A majority adopted a conservative stance on sexuality at the 2019 meeting, triggering a response from gay rights activists.

Conservative congregations, fearing pushback, began leaving the UMC under provisions that expired at the end of last year. Delegates this week refused to extend those exit provisions.

Many of those departing UMC congregations joined the Global Methodist Church, which now claims 4,501 congregations. In a statement, the Global Methodists said they would not comment on the UMC moves but “remain dedicated to upholding [the] denomination’s strong foundation.”