The leadership of the United Methodist Church (UMC) has rejected the so-called “One Church Plan” which would permit individual Churches to decide whether or not to permit same sex wedding.
According to a statement issued on 12 March, the UMC reached the decision recently at the general conference in St. Louis, Missouri
The statement notes that despite a concerted campaign by Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) activists and liberal clergies, delegates from around the world voted down the proposal to permit same sex wedding in Churches which would have also allowed local Churches to hire openly LGBT clergy.
Instead, the UMC notes that delegates voted for the “Traditional Plan” which would maintain the current rules of the United Methodist Church.
The statement says the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church dispatched a strong delegation to the St. Louis conference headed by its resident Bishop Dr. Samuel J. Quire to protect the Traditional Plan of the Church of God.
The UMC statement notes that the Traditional Plan upholds the values and teachings of the Holy Bible.
The statement furthers that the decision came as shock to many.
According to the UMC, the Council of Bishops had recommended that the general conference pass the One Plan in response to a growing number of vocal gay clergy inside the Methodist Church as well as intense pressure from LGBT members.
“It should not be exceptional that a Church conference has rejected unbiblical sexual practices, but at a time when nearly all mainline liberal protestant Churches are abandoning the Bible for the rainbow flag, it actually does come as a surprise,” the UMC says.
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The Church notes that interestingly, one of the key reasons that the traditionalists won at the United Methodist Conference has been ignored by nearly all of the news outlets reporting on vote.
It says the Africa Methodist Church stood up in defense of biblical principle.–Press release
