{"id":1821,"date":"2024-06-12T11:04:09","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T15:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=1821"},"modified":"2024-06-12T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T15:04:09","slug":"united-methodist-church-joins-lifting-ban-on-lgbtq-clergy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/06\/12\/united-methodist-church-joins-lifting-ban-on-lgbtq-clergy\/","title":{"rendered":"Denomination Celebration: United Methodist Church Joins Lifting Ban on LGBTQ+ Clergy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The long-awaited United Methodist Church Worldwide General Conference<\/a> took place last month. With it came a historic vote<\/a> to lift a decades-old ban on allowing homosexual clergy.<\/p>\n

Despite years of heated positioning, theological debate, and an entire denominational split<\/a> of over 7,000 churches, the United Methodist Church welcomed LGBTQ+ clergy to the flock with a resounding 692-51 vote (93%) among UMC delegates.<\/p>\n

The United Methodist Church News Service reported<\/a> the vote was counted “without debate.” Over 20 contested rules were eradicated, including the ban on gay clergy and the penalties for holding same-sex marriages in their churches. Following the vote, delegates were seen clapping and singing, hugging and crying “in a mass release of joy.”<\/p>\n

It was 1984 when the collective church banned “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from becoming clergy or leaders of a local church. That year’s General Conference also listed officiating same-sex unions on “a list of chargeable offenses that could result in a church trial.”<\/p>\n

Four decades later, delegates and observers in attendance recall the entire plight for LGBTQ+ recognition.<\/p>\n

According to the UMC News report, Bishop Karen Oliveto, the denomination’s first openly gay and married bishop, spoke up initially. Over 40 years ago, Oliveto was in the process of being ordained while keeping her sexuality secret so her faith could be public.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have loved this church, even when it didn\u2019t quite know how to love me back. I loved it because it was a vessel of God\u2019s grace, in spite of its flaws,\u201d she said. \u201cI loved it still even when it suddenly made God\u2019s love conditional through harmful language about LGBTQ people and the way it sought to limit our role in its life and ministry.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s About Time for LGBTQ+ United Methodist Church Faithful<\/h2>\n
\"A
Bishop Karen Oliveto (right) and her wife, Robin Ridenour, react to the removal of the denomination’s ban on the ordination of clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals.” (Image Credit: Paul Jeffrey via United Methodist Church News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although the ban against LGBTQ+ clergy has been four decades in the making, the official timeline for “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” to gain that recognition reached past 1984. The United Methodist Church released a comprehensive timeline<\/a> detailing the LGBTQ+ journey since 1972.<\/p>\n