After years of debating gay rights, the United Methodist Church is probably headed for a big split.
Lindsay SchnellNica Sy felt devastated as she stared at her laptop screen. How could the church that had baptized her, raised her, nurtured her and encouraged her to explore ordained ministry say she was unworthy, just because of her sexuality?
At the denomination's annual convention in 2016, Martin said, everyone could sense fissures over the subject of sexuality. The church, she said, was “struggling for a consensus." She worried that the Methodist movement might be on the brink of a tipping point. February's vote confirmed it. The Wesleyan Covenant Association, headquartered in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is a group within the Methodist church that subscribes to what the Rev. Keith Boyette, president of the organization, calls a commitment to the"historic Christian faith," or a more traditional take on Methodism. At the meeting in February, the Wesleyan Covenant Association endorsed the ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage.
Bishop Elaine Stanovsky, one of the five bishops who signed the letter, attended the convention in February. For her, the vote, and its potential long-term implications, are heartbreaking. There’s been no response from the church at large. A spokesperson for the United Methodists declined to comment, saying the General Conference is the only body that can speak officially for the church.
“Especially in the Northwest, I’ve always felt UMC is supportive and protective of queer people in the church,” Sy said. “That’s all I had previously known.” Woodworth, who was in St. Louis during the vote in February, said it was difficult to watch her peers vote against inclusion, but she’s undeterred, based on the bishops’ letter and decades of support from her fellow Methodists."It’s not about whether the church rejects me. For me, it’s about God loves me, God has called me into ministry. Nothing the church says can change that,” she said.“We’re not going back,” Woodworth said. “You can’t put a marriage certificate in the closet.
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