During a global conference in St. Louis this week, United Methodist Church leaders from the Pacific Northwest pushed their church to become more inclusive of LGBT members, but those efforts were rejected.
A majority of delegates (438-384) voted to strengthen bans on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy.
Jeremy Smith, pastor at First Church Seattle, was one of 22 delegates from the Pacific Northwest who attended the conference who was encouraging the church to be more inclusive.
“We want to make our churches open to all people and be affirming of their relationships,” he said.
The United Methodist Church has more than 12 million members worldwide. More than 260 churches are in the Pacific Northwest. Many of those churches have gay leaders and perform same-sex marriages.
“Exclusion of LGBTQ persons is a violation of our covenants that we make at baptism and our covenant as a church,” Smith said.
After the vote, Bishop Ken Carter, president of the Council of Bishops, urged Methodists to focus on their mission.
“We continue to teach and believe that all persons are welcomed in the church, all persons are persons of sacred worth, and we welcome all to receive the ministry of Jesus. Human sexuality is a topic on which people of faith have differing views,” Carter said. “Despite our differences, we will continue to work together to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and share God’s love with all people.”
The divide prompted questions among some church members about whether the United Methodist Church might someday split, as members on both sides of the issue seek their own communities with similar views.
Bishop Elaine Stanovsky oversees the Greater Northwest region of the church and says this issue won't drive her away.
“We will continue to be fully inclusive as we have been for a number of years, of LGBTQ people, and we're not going to leave, we're going to stay, and we're going to be a church, the phrase we're using right now is one church for all people,” Stanovsky said.
The official news service for the United Methodist Church says it's still uncertain whether this week's vote will change practices in progressive congregations, like those in Washington, which have gay clergy and perform same-sex marriages, in open defiance of church rules.