During the General Conference held in Charlotte, the United Methodist Church (UMC) made a groundbreaking decision. They voted to repeal their declaration, which previously stated that homosexuality was incompatible with Christian teachings.
In addition to this, a section of their church law was also repealed. This law previously stated, “Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.” Church law has now evolved to define marriage as a covenant between “two people of faith,” thereby removing the restriction that it must only be between heterosexual couples.
Upon the passage of this vote, a wave of applause swept through the building. One person jubilantly exclaimed, “Thanks be to God.”
However, the decision was not universally celebrated. Many global members did not support this change. It is worth noting that over 7,600 congregations, accounting for almost a quarter of the total, had previously parted ways with the UMC denomination. This mass departure was due to the lack of enforcement of bans on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ ordinations. Back in 2019, a special General Conference passed a plan allowing congregations to leave the denomination due to “reasons of conscience” concerning sexuality.
In response to these changes, Jerry Kulah, a reverend and delegate from Liberia, said, “We do not believe we know better than the Bible.”
A constitutional amendment, known as worldwide regionalization, was also passed. This amendment allows congregations outside of the US to make adjustments to their beliefs regarding LGBTQ issues, providing a degree of independence in their stance.
Many of the congregations that departed from the UMC at the end of 2023 found a new home in the Global Methodist Church (GMC). The GMC does not support LGBTQ marriage and ordination. It has grown remarkably, and now includes over 4,500 churches. Notably, about 90% of these churches are in the United States.
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