There are no gay Baptists; LGBT ban

Associated Press (ap.org); Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

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