United Methodists concluded their General Conference last Friday (May 4) without voting on gay clergy or same-sex marriage, a surprising end to a disappointing week for gay activists.
On Thursday, the nearly 1,000 delegates gathered in Tampa, Fla., soundly rejected two motions that would have amended the United Methodist Church’s book of doctrine and rules, which calls the practice of homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.” After those votes, protesters flooded the convention floor, briefly shutting down the conference….
Interesting. Some TEC dioceses have forged ahead with practicing homosexual clergy, and SSBs without bothering to make any sort of official doctrinal statement regarding the defiling sinfulness of homosexual practice.
As far as I can tell, Lambeth I.10, weak as it is, is the only doctrinal statement on homosexual practice that’s been made in recent years.
At least the Methodists have a sense of order about such things. No doctrinal change – why waste time on practicing homosexual clergy and SSBs.
Interesting comment [url=http://confessingumc.org/latest-news/day-1-general-conference-2012/]here, May 4, 8:00 AM[/url], on some of the inevitable politics.
I wish one could say that the fat lady has sung, but surely plans are a brewin’. The most simple strategy would be to isolate the American churches from African (and, I will state, Christian) mores, but I’m sure other interesting schemes will also be devised and attempted.
The Methodist Church has not been distracted or influenced by Canterbury’s requirement for an interminable listening process.