Methodist stance on gays

Bishop Karen Oliveto is retiring in a few months as a United Methodist bishop.

Oliveto was emotional saying those words aloud. As the church's first openly gay bishop, her track was not always certain.

"Every day of my ministry, I've had to wonder, is this the afternoon my ordination will be taken from me?" Oliveto said.

That is, until this year's United Methodist General Conference, the church's global legislative body, voted to overturn every ban on LGBTQ people. The historic changes include a brand-new definition of marriage as a lifelong covenant between "two people of faith," rather than solely between a man and a woman, and a repeal of its ban on LGBTQ clergy.

The General Conference also struck down a year-old stance on homosexuality being "incompatible with Christian teaching."

"To hear someone tell, 'we need to repent of the harm we've done.' I didn't recognize my body was waiting for that," said Oliveto.

The changes, which are efficient immediately, open new doors for LGBTQ members. One year-old, who wished to go by J.M., is working toward becoming ordained as a deacon in the United Methodist Church.

"We have been here and we have been fighting, and our fight has been worth it,"

Methodist Off The Rails

Hopefull said:
Awhile back l posted anout my granddaughters church voting to split from the traditional Methodist denomination. This link will show why.

The Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church promoted an openly gay clergyman to the rank of bishop in defiance of their rules prohibiting the ordination of "practicing homosexuals."

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VictorianLady said:
Yes I would utter that's a good reason to break away!
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forgiven61 said:
over the past some odd year the united Methodist conference board has strayed away from the Bible . you cant depart against God word and expect to be the Church. God is trimming the dead branches support soon they will be like the vineyard in proverbs
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Lanolin said:
I don't realize about the methodists churches (never attended one) but hasn't the same thing happened in the Anglican churches? Quakers don't possess anything like ordained Bishops or church hierarchies though I am sure people attend who go against or do not trust in Gods word in the Bible.

Baptist churches as far as I know don't have Bishops.
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Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: African Methodist Episcopal Church
BACKGROUND
The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. The AME Church originated as a protest against the racial discrimination experienced by people of African descent at white Methodist congregations, such as the St. George Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. In , Rev. Richard Allen and Rev. Absalom Jones withdrew from St. George Methodist Episcopal Church and founded The Free African Society, marking the beginnings of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
It was formally organized in by a group of several ebony congregations in the mid-Atlantic area and they consecrated Richard Allen as the first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The denomination continues to be a member of the family of Methodist Churches.
The AME Church operates under an episcopal shape of government. Bishops constitute the chief executive and administrative officers of the church, and their command is derived from the General Conference.
LGBTQ+ EQUALITY
ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY
The African Method

Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: The Together Methodist Church
In May , the General Conference voted to remove longstanding bans on the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy and the celebration of gay marriages by clergy and in churches. These changes became fully effective on January 1,
BACKGROUND
The UMC traces its origins to the Methodist movement initiated in the midth century by Anglican priest John Wesley and his brother Charles. The current structure of the UMC was established in through the union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The church is founded on three basic principles:
Do no harm.
Do good.
Practice the ordinances of God, including prayer, Bible reading, worship, and the Lord's Supper.
The global church structure mirrors the United States government with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch, the General Conference, meets every four years to set church policy. Approximately 1, delegates (half lay leaders, half clergy) assemble to consider revisions to the Book of Resolutions and the Book of Discipline. Decisions of the General Conference are binding until the next conference convenes. Feedi

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