Internal differences on same-sex relations led some to walk out of the denomination. But the remainder have moved forward with changing the church’s views.

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.

United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers.

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.

The United Methodist Church voted Wednesday to allow LGBTQ clergy to serve in the church, reversing a 40-year ban. The church had forbidden "self-avowed homosexuals" from being ordained or appointed as clergy members.

The United Methodist Church has reversed its ban on gay clergy, clearing the way for LGBTQ clergy to be appointed as ministers in Houston and across the country for the first time since 1984 starting Friday.