The United Methodist Church has been on a long and sometimes painful journey toward understanding and welcoming its LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters. For many years, the church’s official stance was shaped by restriction, defining boundaries around who could be ordained and which marriages could be blessed. Yet even in the midst of that limiting language, faithful people across the denomination continued to lift up another message, one rooted in the gospel: that every person is of sacred worth and that God’s love knows no boundaries.

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These persistent voices of hope, prayer, and courage laid the foundation for historic change. Over time, through quiet conversations and public witness, the Spirit kept working within the church. In 2024, that faithful persistence bore fruit. The denomination took a major step forward by removing harmful language, affirming the gifts of LGBTQ+ clergy, and creating space for churches and regional bodies to discern how best to live out God’s call in their particular contexts. This unfolding story is one of struggle and hope, revealing the Spirit’s ongoing work to make the church more fully reflect Christ’s wide embrace.

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The story begins in 1972, when the denomination inserted language into its Social Principles declaring that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” That statement marked the start of a decades-long internal conflict. The Book of Discipline set clear restrictions that prohibited the ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals,” forbade clergy from blessing or presiding over same-sex unions, and restricted the use of church facilities for groups promoting acceptance of homosexuality.

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Even then, a seed of inclusion was present in the church’s own words. Alongside its restrictive policies, the denomination also affirmed that “all persons are of sacred worth.” Advocates for change held fast to that declaration, using it as a theological anchor in their call for inclusion. In 1984, Reconciling Ministries Network emerged as a powerful witness, organizing congregations across the country to become “Reconciling Congregations” that openly supported the full participation of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the church.

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Over the years, courageous leaders stepped forward, challenging the boundaries that had been drawn. In 2016, Karen Oliveto became the first openly lesbian bishop in the denomination. Despite denominational rules that forbade openly gay clergy, she remained in office following a ruling by the UMC’s Judicial Council. Then, in 2022, Cedrick Bridgeforth became the first openly gay African American man to be elected bishop, signaling another shift within the life of the church.

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Not every chapter of this story was one of expansion. In February 2019, a special General Conference adopted what was known as the Traditional Plan, reaffirming and tightening restrictions on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ clergy. This decision deepened divisions within the denomination and led to the disaffiliation of many progressive congregations, creating a painful and significant schism.

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Yet the Spirit continued to stir. In April and May of 2024, delegates gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a General Conference that would reshape the church’s relationship with LGBTQ+ people. A new vision began to take form. The body adopted a structure known as regionalization, granting different parts of the global church the freedom to make decisions that best fit their context. On May 1, the church lifted its decades-old ban on LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriages. The following day, delegates voted to remove the language that had declared homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching,” and redefined marriage to be between two consenting adults. They also affirmed the importance of consent and took a clear stand against child marriage and polygamy. On May 3, the church eliminated penalties for officiating same-sex weddings, for clergy being in same-sex relationships, and for the use of church facilities to celebrate such unions. Clergy were also given the freedom to decline officiating weddings based on conscience, acknowledging that unity need not require uniformity.

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These decisions marked a profound shift, but they did not erase the complexity of the journey. More than 7,000 congregations, roughly one quarter of U.S. churches, chose to leave the denomination and align with more conservative bodies such as the Global Methodist Church. Tensions remain in some global regions, including parts of Africa and Asia, where opposition to LGBTQ+ inclusion is still strong. The denomination also continues to face challenges of declining membership and financial strain, pressures that have been intensified by this season of transformation.

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Even with these challenges, the story of the UMC’s relationship with LGBTQ+ people is ultimately one of movement toward a wider welcome. It is a story of the church wrestling with its own history and theology, listening for the Spirit, and learning to more fully reflect the radical, boundary-breaking love of Christ. The journey is not finished, but it is moving forward in faith, hope, and love.

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