United Methodists Repeal Ban on LGBTQ Clergy

United Methodist Church delegates voted to repeal their church’s long-standing ban on LGBTQ clergy on Wednesday, showing overwhelming support that contrasts with decades of controversy over the issue.

The church voted 692-51 at its General Conference to remove a rule that prohibits “openly practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers, The Associated Press reported.

In the past, United Methodist Church elders have strengthened the LGBTQ ban during their annual conference held in Charlotte, NC, but the group has moved in a more progressive direction after some conservative members left the denomination.

The change does not explicitly mandate or affirm LGBTQ clergy members, but it does mean the church no longer bans them from serving churches across the country. After the vote, applause erupted and members of advocacy groups hugged each other, according to the AP.

The vote is just one step delegates are taking to remove LGBTQ bans. Later this week, more petitions will be voted on that could remove the denomination’s long-standing position that “the practice of homosexuality” is “incompatible with Christian beliefs.”

“With the approvals and acceptance of things today by the General Conference, we are beginning to see the unraveling, the unraveling, the dismantling of heterosexism, of homophobia, of the pain and harm of the United Methodist Church,” said Rev. Meredith said: according to reports from United Methodist News.

Meredith is a gay, married, and retired elder from the West Ohio Conference, part of the advocacy group Reconciling Ministries Network, which tries to promote LGTBQ inclusion in the church.

Delegates voted Tuesday to remove mandatory penalties for performing same-sex marriages and remove prohibitions on considering LGBTQ candidates in the church network. The votes are historic for the delegation that has debated LGTBQ rights for more than half a century, AP reported.

While the changes are celebrated by many current members, the AP noted that nearly 8,000 conservative congregations across the country disaffiliated from the church between 2019 and 2023 after the denomination failed to enforce its prohibitions surrounding LGBTQ communities.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.