United Methodist Church Reverses Ban on Gay Clergy
The United Methodist Church removed a longstanding ban on the ordination of practicing gay clergy on Wednesday morning, making official a shift from a policy that had already begun to fray in practice, prompting the departure of a quarter of its congregations in the United States in recent years.
Methodist leaders are meeting for the first time since 2019, after several delays because of the pandemic. The overturning of the 40-year-old ban on “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” passed overwhelmingly and without debate in a package of measures that had already received strong support in committee.
Delegates, meeting in Charlotte, N.C., also voted to bar local leaders from penalizing clergy or churches for holding (or declining to hold) same-sex weddings.
Further votes affirming L.G.B.T.Q. clergy and churchgoers are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday. Last week, the conference approved the first phrase of a “regionalization” plan that would restructure the global denomination to give different regions autonomy on adapting rules on issues including sexuality.
