Earlier this month, delegates at a United Methodist Church conference struck down the UMC’s longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies and created a path for clergy ousted because of them to return.
This issue of A Public Witness shares the foreword, written by The Riverside Church's Rev. Adriene Thorne, to our forthcoming book "Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism."
The nation’s largest Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Lutheran denominations have all now removed barriers to LGBTQ participation in the pulpit and at the altar.
The thinning of the UMC’s conservative ranks makes this week’s conference a perfect time to address the issue.
The consensus was so overwhelming 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 667-54 vote, coming during their legislative General Conference, removes some of the scaffolding around the UMC's longstanding bans on LGBTQ-affirming policies regarding ordination, marriage, and funding.
Regionalization has been framed as an undertaking of decolonization. But the plan is also an acknowledgment that cultural and theological differences are driving Methodists apart, especially regarding sexuality.
Missing in all the jokes and news reports about the Trump Bible is that this isn’t the first time a presidential stamp of approval was sought for the Good Book.
'Fresh Expressions' is a denominational initiative intended to connect people who may not be interested in church but are interested in learning a new skill or making new friends.
Even after the departures, 24% of North Carolina clergy remaining in the denomination disagree with allowing LGBTQ people to get married and ordained within the denomination.