LGBTQ United Methodists hope to build on 2024 gains
Izzy Alvaran (right) and others pray together on May 1, 2024, after the United Methodist general conference voted to remove the denomination's ban on the ordination of "self-avowed practicing" gay clergy. Alvaran is on the staff of the Reconciling Ministries Network. (File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News)
After decades of passionate advocacy, those supporting LGBTQ inclusion in the United Methodist Church finally achieved their goals at last year’s general conference. With the advocates’ persistent organizing and prayer, the international lawmaking assembly voted—in some cases overwhelmingly—to remove all language condemning homosexuality from the denomination’s Book of Discipline. Actions included eliminating denomination-wide bans on gay clergy and same-sex marriage as well as erasing an anti-gay stance that dated back more than 50 years.
So what happens when at long last you have met your goals?
You set new ones.
