United Methodists give early approval to measures that could pave new path on LGBTQ+ issues
Source: USA Today
Published 6:02 a.m. ET April 27, 2024 | Updated 6:02 a.m. ET April 27, 2024
The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly earlier this week passed key measures that could refashion the denomination's global structure - and pave the way for greater regional autonomy on LGBTQ+ issues - just days into a weekslong gathering.
More than 700 delegates from around the world convened in Charlotte, North Carolina, to decide on legislation expected to shape the long-term future of the nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination. A proposal known as “regionalization” is among the highest profile of those decisions - in addition to the possible removal of anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
The UMC lost a quarter of its U.S. churches in recent years due to a splintering over church policy and theology, including dealing with LGBTQ+ rights. The overwhelming approval of key regionalization-related proposals, called petitions, by delegates Thursday is the first major sign of what many United Methodist leaders hope is a new chapter in the denomination’s life.
“Are you willing to move forward in the spirit of hope and embrace a season of reformation? Are you committed to the revitalization of the United Methodist Church?” said New York Bishop the Rev. Thomas Bickerton, outgoing president of the UMC Council of Bishops, in an April 23 address to the conference’s opening plenary session. “We don’t have any time for negative narratives and personal agendas. … Friends, we got work to do.”
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/27/united-methodist-church-passes-lgbtq-measure/73468330007/
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