Associated Press (ap.org); Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly
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| Sara Isbell joins other delegates at the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church in St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 26, 2019. America's second-largest Protestant denomination faces a likely fracture as delegates at the crucial meeting move to strengthen bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy (AP). |
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Emotions were high throughout the third and final day of the UMC (United Methodist Convention)
meeting. Some supporters of greater LGBT (lesbian gay bi trans) inclusion were in tears, while
others vented their anger when, midway through the session, delegates
defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies
decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies.
"Devastation," was how former Methodist pastor
Rebecca Wilson of Detroit described her feelings. "As someone who left
because I'm gay, I'm waiting for the church I love to stop bringing more
hate."
After several more hours of debate, the conservatives' proposal,
called the Traditional Plan, was approved by a vote of 438-384.
Opponents unsuccessfully sought to weaken the plan with hostile
amendments or to prolong the debate past a mandatory adjournment time
set to accommodate a monster truck rally in the arena. One delegate even
requested an investigation into the possibility that "vote buying" was
taking place at the conference.
The Traditional Plan's success was due to an
alliance of conservatives from the U.S. and overseas. About 43 percent
of the delegates were from abroad, mostly from Africa, and
overwhelmingly supported the LGBT bans.
If
the bans were eased, "the church in Africa would cease to exist," said
the Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia. "We can't do anything but to support
the Traditional Plan — it is the biblical plan." More
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