As the UMC General Conference in Charlotte nears conclusion, petitions to remove same-sex union ban and new social principles are on Thursday's agenda.

Other proposals to remove restrictions on same-sex unions and change the disciplinary consequences for dissent are also up for debate. The UMC General Conference’s decisions are aimed at reversing a series of policies that traditionalists worked for decades to pass and protect.

The United Methodist Church is moving to end its longstanding ban on the ordination of gay clergy, following decades of debate over the role of LGBTQ people in the church. The Wednesday vote to end the ban passed with 93% approval at the Methodist Church’s first general conference meeting since 2019.