United Methodist Church Reverses Ban on Practicing Gay Clergy

The United Methodist Church removed on Wednesday its longstanding ban on ordaining gay clergy, formalizing a shift in policy that had already begun in practice and that had prompted the departure of a quarter of its U.S. congregations in recent years.

The overturning of the 40-year-old ban on "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" passed overwhelmingly and without debate in a package of measures that had already received strong support at the committee level.

Delegates, meeting in Charlotte, N.C., also voted to bar local leaders from penalizing clergy or churches for holding, or declining to hold, same-sex weddings. The vote effectively allows same-sex marriage in the church for the first time, although the original penalty was already unevenly enforced. Some clergy may still decline to perform same-sex weddings.

Further votes affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.

"We've always been a big-tent church where all of God's beloved were fully welcome," said Bishop Tracy Smith Malone, the new president of the denomination's Council of Bishops and the first Black woman to serve in that role. She called the vote "a celebration of God breaking down walls."

She described the atmosphere in the room as a "Pentecost moment," in which the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.