(RNS) — You’ve probably heard the United Methodist Church is meeting this weekend in St. Louis, and that it has something to do with sexuality and a possible schism.
The special session of the United Methodist Church General Conference runs Sunday (Feb. 24) to Tuesday at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. Saturday has been designated a day of prayer and preparation.
What is this meeting all about, and what are all these plans? Let us ’Splain…
Didn’t the United Methodist Church just have a meeting?
Yes, the General Conference — the denomination’s decision-making body — meets every four years. The last meeting was in 2016 in Portland, Ore.
Locked in a stalemate over petitions regarding LGBTQ inclusion — with rumors swirling about schism and one delegate fretting, “I believe we are confusing God at this point” — delegates at that meeting voted to defer all decisions on related legislation to a specially appointed commission. They also left the door open for a special session.
Currently, the denomination’s rulebook, the Book of Discipline, includes language that bars gay and lesbian members from ordination and marriage.
Now the 864 General Conference delegates, which include both clergy and laypeople from around the world, will gather to receive and act on a report from the Council of Bishops, based on recommendations from that specially…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.