A group of observers from LGBTQ advocacy groups embraced following the vote, some in tears."Thanks be to God," said one.Action News, AccuWeather and EntertainmentUnited Methodist delegates repealed their church's longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from being ordained or appointed as ministers.
The consensus was so overwhelmingly that it was rolled into a "consent calendar," a package of normally non-controversial measures that are bundled into a single vote to save time. The changes are historic in a denomination that has debated LGBTQ issues for more than half a century at its General Conferences, which typically meet every four years. On Tuesday, delegates voted to remove mandatory penalties for conducting same-sex marriages and to remove their denomination's bans on considering LGBTQ candidates for ministry and on funding for gay-friendly ministries.
Angie Cox, an observer at the meeting from Ohio, said she has gone before her conference's board of ordained ministry six times but was "told no just because of the prohibition on LGBTQ clergy." She said Wednesday's vote "means I might be able finally to live fully into my calling." Last week, the conference endorsed a regionalization plan that essentially would allow the churches of the United States the same autonomy as other regions of the global church. That change - which still requires local ratification - could create a scenario where LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage are allowed in the United States but not in other regions.
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