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United Methodists in the U.S. have defeated amendments that would have made church membership open to all Christians regardless of sexual orientation and that would have moved toward allowing the U.S. church to address issues independent of the global United Methodist body.

The conservative evangelical Presbyterian Church in America has reported a net loss in members for the first time in its three dozen years. The PCA, formed from congregations that left the southern-states Presbyterian Church in the U.S. in 1973, saw membership decline from 345,582 in 2007 to 340,852 in 2008.

Newly elected moderator Brad Bradley delivered the news at the PCA’s annual General Assembly at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in June.