Nearly 150 Texas churches voted to leave the United Methodist Church during the Northwest Texas Annual Conference of United Methodist Churches (UMC) over disagreements concerning the church’s position on gay marriage, according to the Texas Tribune.
In a 261-24 vote over the weekend, 145 churches voted to exit the United Methodist Church and join the Global Methodist Church after years of disagreement between the churches and the UMC over the organization’s acceptance of gay marriage, according to the Texas Tribune.
In 2019, the UMC announced that it would continue to enforce bans on LGBTQ clergy and performing same-sex marriages; however, many Methodist churches have argued that the UMC has not enforced the rule, leading to the split, according to UM News. The announcement followed a proposal that would have lifted some restrictions on gay marriage and LGBTQ clergy in the Methodist church, according to NPR.
The Traditional Plan passed UMC’s General Assembly by a vote of 438 – 384 and a “dissolution plan” was also approved for churches that did not agree with the decision and for those who felt the measure was not enough, according to UM News.
A pride flag hangs at the First Congregational Church United Church of Christ after a mass shooting at LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. November 23, 2022. REUTERS/Isaiah J. Downing
The vote adds to a long list of churches that have left the UMC since the 2019 decision, according to UM News. Nearly 1,500 churches have requested to leave the UMC over the last four years.
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