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Article: The United Methodist Church's conferences are voting on a measure that would open church membership to active homosexuals.(While We're At It)(Conference news)
- Article from:
- First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
- Article date:
- October 1, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Institute on Religion and Public Life. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The United Methodist Church's conferences are voting on a measure that would open church membership to active homosexuals. Twenty-seven of forty-four regional governing bodies reporting voted no. There are sixty-two conferences in total (not all have reported their votes), and the proposal requires support from two-thirds of the conferences for adoption.
The United Methodists have another seventy-two conferences in Africa, the Philippines, and Europe. Those votes are ongoing, and the results will not be known until the spring of next year. Observers, however, point out that African opposition is a large factor in UMC efforts to revise how Methodists officially ...