United Methodist Church body proposes more open stance on homosexuality

Gay clergy and same-sex marriage may soon be allowed at United Methodist Churches under a proposal drafted by the Connectional Table, a respected international body of clergy members and lay people in the church.

methodist-churchThe Connectional Table plans the church legislation that members hope can be “a third way” in the UMC’s long debate over homosexuality.

The body on Feb. 10 overwhelmingly affirmed a proposal to remove prohibitive language that makes it a chargeable offense under church law for clergy to be “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” or to officiate at same-sex weddings.

The action was not a formal vote, but the reported results of two hours of small-group discussions.

The Connectional Table will take up proposed legislative language for an actual vote when it meets in May in Nashville, Tennessee. LGBTQNation