Oak Lawn United Methodist Church along with Northaven, Grace and other Methodist churches in Dallas welcome the LGBT community and favor individual congregations choosing whether to host same-sex weddings.
The Methodist Church will reject same-sex marriage and LGBT preachers if a preliminary vote holds up in a final vote today.
Methodist Church leaders and representatives are meeting this week in St. Louis to decide on the issue that is splitting the denomination. The One Church plan that would allow diocese determine whether to ordinate LGBT clergy and individual churches to decide whether to host same-sex weddings failed on Monday. The Traditional Plan will be voted on today (Tuesday, Feb. 26). That would maintain the status quo by continuing to discriminate against LGBT clergy and same-sex couples.
Oak Lawn UMC, Northaven UMC and Grace UMC are reconciling congregations and are among the Methodist churches in Dallas that favor allowing congregations to choose for themselves whether to host same-sex weddings. After the congregation voted to allow same-sex weddings at Northaven, the Rev. Eric Folkerth was brought up on charges that were resolved. He was removed from the congregation.
A number of churches are threatening to leave the denomination if their members are not allowed to marry in the church. None of the local churches have made their plans public.
The Traditional Plan that is set for a vote keeps in place the ban on ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” and prohibits clergy from officiating at same-sex weddings. While the ban has been in place, the Methodist Church has many LGBT members of the clergy — even ones who are self-avowed and those who practice or are already good at it. What the church probably doesn’t have are self-avowed homosexuals because no one has called themselves that in 40 years. Hmm. Loophole?
— David Taffet