There was excitement, joy, and some sadness Thursday after the United Methodist Church in North Texas voted to remove from its social principles a 52-year-old statement calling homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teachings.” I reacted.
Participants in general conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, also voted in favor of redefining the church's position on marriage, currently described as a sacred covenant between “two people of faith.” I cast it. The revised social principles passed by a vote of 523 to 161.
Eric Folkers, senior pastor of Kessler Park United Methodist Church, watched a livestream of the church vote along with a group of pastors and congregation members.
“What happened today is [52-year] This is the harm that the United Methodist Church first inflicted on the LGBTQ community,” Folkers said Thursday after the vote. “I’m very relieved and very happy to see something like this happen.”
Kelly Smith, senior pastor of White Rock United Methodist Church, watched part of Thursday's vote at the Kessler Park church.
“I can tell you there was quite a bit of pain. People who were there were sharing how they had been hurt by the church,” Smith said of the gathering. “I think I was just so happy, but then I felt so sad for all the people that were hurt. It was two emotions at once,” she said of her own response to the vote. He talked about the reaction.
The new definition of marriage was approved after lengthy discussions and compromise amendments that revealed tensions between some U.S. and international delegates, the Associated Press reported.
“Given that we are a global church, it was a nice compromise to be able to speak to a variety of backgrounds,” said Chandon Klein, a lay representative from Garland who attended the conference.
Thursday's vote comes after decades of disagreement over LGBTQ policies in the United Methodist Church. In 2019, the denomination began allowing churches to leave and keep their properties by the end of 2023 for “reasons of conscience” regarding a person's sexual orientation. More than 7,600 churches have left the United States, including 53 churches in the North Texas Conference.
About half of the churches that left joined a new, more conservative denomination, the Global Methodist Church. The denomination said it would enforce rules banning same-sex marriage ceremonies and openly gay pastors.
In the public Facebook group Friends of the Global Methodist Church, those defending the former denomination's decision this week and their choice to leave the United Methodist Church expressed frustration and sadness. Some shared a desire to move forward.
“Guys, we need to congratulate them and move on. Yes, they are making decisions like the ones we warned you about, but that's why we all left,” it says. the person wrote.
Thursday's vote came a day after United Methodist delegates lifted a long-standing ban on LGBTQ pastors.
The Global Methodist Church said in a press release Wednesday that it is “aware of recent decisions made by the General Conference of the United Methodist Church regarding the definition of marriage and standards for ordination.” The Global Methodist Church operates independently of the United Methodist Church, and therefore we have no involvement in their decisions and do not intend to comment or provide commentary on the actions of other religious groups. There is no. ”
Bruce Riley, a layman who attends Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Preston Hollow with his husband, said he has been checking news sites every day this week to see when his denomination will vote on anti-LGBTQ policies. Ta.
“It warms my heart to think that perhaps now, as more young children grow up, they will realize that the church is not exclusive,” Riley said. “They are welcomed into a church where they believe, where they are appreciated, where they are loved and where they are not just tolerated but accepted.”
Roy Atwood, an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Dallas, got engaged to his boyfriend on Sunday.
“He told me later that he had considered waiting until the next day.” [General] conference,” Atwood said.
“We've never let people get in the way of our relationship,” he added. “We are pleased that UMC has now determined that this relationship is one that is respectful and worthy of respect.”
Joy Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for the Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.
