From April 23, 2024 to May 3, 2024, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church convened. This is the main governing body of our denomination, tasked with creating and modifying legislation and policies that govern our life together. At this session of the General Conference, historic decisions were made, as delegates approved legislation that opens space for The United Methodist Church to be a more welcoming and inclusive church. Specifically, the prohibitions against ordination and marriage of persons in same-gender relationships were removed from the Book of Discipline (the rules that govern the worldwide United Methodist Church, including Embrace). The removal of this language, which has been harmful and restrictive to LGBTQ+ individuals, now allows all people the opportunity to be fully included in the life of the church.The removal of this language also makes room for differences of opinion and belief to be present in one church family. In addition to the removal of the prohibitions, the conference also added protection for clergy, so none can be prohibited from performing or compelled to perform marriages inconsistent with their convictions.
We see the outcomes of this General Conference aligning both with our church family’s commitment to full inclusion, as well as to unity-in-diversity. The spirit of the conference reflected a shared desire to stay together despite differences, which is the same desire we continue to hold at Embrace. These are, in fact, the outcomes we hoped and prayed we would see at the denominational level when we concluded our church’s discernment process this past fall. We are grateful and hopeful for the next season of life and ministry together in the UMC.
If you would like to discuss General Conference in more detail, we will be offering a short talk-back session before church on Sunday, May 26th, at 9:30am. Our pastoral staff, Lay Delegate (Dustin Pugel), and SPRC Chair (Leanndra Padgett-Thompson) are also available to meet with you.
Some Helpful Links:
Recap of Final Day of General Conference
Legislative Recap of General Conference
Video Summary of General Conference
Statement from Fall 2023 (Conclusion of Embrace’s Discernment Process on LGBTQ+ Care and Inclusion)