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A Message from Bishop Moore-Koikoi: General Conference Decisions
Siblings in Christ,
After years of intensive and prayerful debate, the General Conference delegates from all over the world voted to remove language that prohibited United Methodist clergy from performing weddings for same-gender couples. This change allows churches and clergy to operate according to their conscience, without consequence.
There are some important things about this decision that I want you to know. First, pastors have always decided who they will marry. This is based on several factors including the couples’ preparation for the marriage covenant. This has not changed. Pastors will continue to decide who they will marry. No one will force a pastor to officiate a marriage ceremony for any couple.
Second, churches will continue to determine what weddings are held in their church buildings. This is the decision of the local church’s Board of Trustees. Further, the desires of all clergy and congregations in this matter are to be honored and not judged by others.
Specifically, the change will include new language in ¶ 419.12 Book of Discipline that states:
13. The superintendent shall not penalize any clergy from performing, or refraining from performing, a same-sex marriage service.
14. The superintendent shall neither require any local church to hold or prohibit a local church from holding a same-sex marriage service on property owned by a local church.
We know that different people have different opinions on these matters and the diversity of perspectives needs to be respected.
The delegates of the General Conference also voted to remove prohibitions that prevented a Board of Ordained Ministry from recommending a gay or lesbian person for ordination. Gay persons may enter the process to become candidates for ministry, and if approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry, can now be licensed, commissioned, and ordained.
Please be assured that the Bishop and Cabinet will continue to work with churches and clergy to ensure we have the best match possible when making appointments.
We want everyone to have a VITAL ministry, not a ministry defined by conflict. We have always worked to place all pastors in appointments where they will be accepted and will be able to work in partnership with the laity to further the mission of Jesus Christ. Our commitment to the local church and the mission of Christ has not changed. Your district superintendent will continue to be your primary contact on appointment related issues.
These recent decisions at the General Conference, reinforce the primacy of God’s love in our lives and the world, and add complexity to our life together as United Methodists.
I realize this General Conference decision may bring about various emotions and reactions within our congregations and the broader denomination. There will no doubt be some who are disheartened and pained by this decision as well as some who welcome it. As we collaborate and work together, I feel sure that we can navigate the complexity and respect one another.
The removal of the language around human sexuality returns us to the Book of Discipline that we have had from the founding of the church in 1784 until 1972 when the General Conference first added the restrictive measures into the Book of Discipline.
As United Methodists in Western Pennsylvania, we remain committed to upholding our Wesleyan values of love, grace, and inclusivity. While we may not all agree on every issue, we are called to continue embodying the love of Christ in our interactions with one another. I invite you to strive to maintain a spirit of unity. Our unity is in Christ and therefore, it is more important than ever to engage in respectful dialogue, compassionate listening, and prayerful practice with one another.
The church is the only institution that exists for those who are not yet a part of it. It exists so others can come to know Christ. It exists to make disciples. Our communion table is open, and so are our hearts. We have important work to do — together. Without fear, and with the joy of the Lord, let’s get to the work Jesus calls us to do. Let us be people who share the transforming power of Christ with the world.
Peace and blessings,
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi
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40-year ban on gay clergy struck down
Key points:
- In an emotional morning, General Conference eliminated the ban on “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy.
- Following the vote at break, delegates and observers sang hymns in joy.
- General Conferences continues to quietly reverse some of The United Methodist Church’s longtime restrictions against LGBTQ members.
- More potential changes are to come.
Without debate, General Conference has removed The United Methodist Church’s ban on the ordination of clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” — a prohibition that dates to 1984.
During the morning plenary May 1, General Conference approved the change alongside 22 pieces of legislation on the consent calendar, which allows delegates to pass multiple petitions in bulk if they have overwhelming support in legislative committee and have no budgetary or constitutional impact.
The vote on the consent calendar was 692-51, with approval at 93%.
Delegates and observers applauded after the vote.
Also on the consent calendar, delegates voted that superintendents are not to penalize clergy or churches for holding— or refraining from holding — same-sex weddings.
Another change approved exhorts the Council of Bishops to be inclusive of gender, race, ethnicity, age, people with disabilities, sexual orientation and economic condition in naming representatives to ecumenical organizations .
The legislation approved on this morning’s consent calendar continues the trend of this General Conference, which is quietly reversing some of The United Methodist Church’s longtime restrictions against LGBTQ members.
More potential changes are to come — possibly later today.
On the April 30 consent calendar, General Conference removed a number of constraints on ministry with and by gay people. One of the key changes was eliminating a ban on using United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
In 2016, General Conference delegates referred to that ban in not supporting the funding of suicide prevention efforts for LGBTQ youth.
It should be noted that nothing passed by General Conference or under consideration would compel churches to receive a gay pastor. The legislation approved this morning also explicitly protects the right of clergy and churches not to officiate at or host same-sex weddings.
Retired Bishop Hope Morgan Ward — a longtime advocate for including LGBTQ people in church life — offered a prayer after the significant vote. She invited everyone to place their hands on their hearts as they remember those in their location of ministry and service.
“You every day are great, God, and every day you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us a desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all creation, and devote this day to your service,” she prayed.
During break, delegates and observers formed a circle of 200 to 300, clapping and singing such hymns as “Child of God” and “Draw the Circle Wide.”
Many hugged and more than a few cried, in a mass release of joy for those who had pushed, some for decades, to make The United Methodist Church fully inclusive.
The scene was a marked contrast to that of the special General Conference in St. Louis in 2019, which left progressives and many centrists in the denomination distraught at the tightening of restrictions against LGBTQ participation.
Mountain Sky Area Bishop Karen Oliveto, the denomination’s first openly gay and married bishop, was already in the ordination process when the 1984 prohibition was added.
“I have loved this church, even when it didn’t quite know how to love me back. I loved it because it was a vessel of God’s grace, in spite of its flaws,” she said. “I loved it still even when it suddenly made God’s love conditional through harmful language about LGBTQ people and the way it sought to limit our role in its life and ministry.”
She said sometimes she considered leaving but the Holy Spirit kept her in the church.
Oliveto said she is grateful to the Western Jurisdiction, which elected her bishop in 2016, and for all United Methodists who worked tirelessly for decades to help open the doors of the church to all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Today, we celebrate this historic vote,” she said. “Tomorrow, we will continue to work together. To learn from one another. To stand with one another. To continue to widen the circle so that those on the margins of church and society can find a home.”
Marilyn Murphy, an observer from the South Carolina Conference who has seen the church debate this issue for decades, said she was surprised it was embedded in the consent calendar but not surprised it passed.
“We’ve been going on like this since the ’70s and, finally, in just a brief few minutes with no debate, it was gone. And now we can get on about the business of the church.”
Virginia Lee, an observer from the Virginia Conference, shared her joy.
“It’s a great day! And that just says it all.”
It’s also a great day for the Rev. Leo Yates. May 1 is his wedding anniversary, and he and his husband received a gift today from General Conference.
An ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church, Yates serves as accessibility and inclusivity coordinator for the Baltimore-Washington Conference and as pastor at Magothy United Methodist Church of the Deaf. He is at General Conference serving as one of the Deaf interpreters for delegates and visitors.
“I feel like this is a year of jubilee,” Yates said. “This has been a long time coming. So many of us have lived under this yoke and have waited for this (ban) to be removed.”
Yates is married to the Rev. Giovanni Arroyo, who serves as top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race and is a clergy delegate to General Conference from the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
“Of all the days for this to pass,” Yates said. “I’ll probably cry when I get back to the hotel.”
Yates said the ban was a stumbling block in his ordination process as a deacon, and to many other clergy candidates.
“We’ve lost some very good clergy people because of it,” he said. “So now, may we be more equitable and welcoming to all of us.”
Sam Hodges, Jessica Brodie and Erik Alsgaard contributed to this report.
