At the recent General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the debate over the issues of labeling homosexuality as incompatible with Christian teaching, ordaining homosexual clergy and performing same-sex marriages reached a breaking point.
“Traditionalists” approved a plan which would institute mandatory penalties for clergy who perform same-sex marriages and made it eminently clear that LGBTQIA persons were not eligible for ordained ministry. This level of orthodoxy and greater church control has never been the United Methodist way. It is an attempt to intimidate into submission all who affirm the full sacred worth of LGBTQIA persons.
We do not believe that sexual orientation should be a criterion for ordination or categorized as “incompatible” with Christian faith and life.