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Same sex marriage allowance defeated in committee
The Committee on Ministry & Higher Education rejected sub-committee work that would have recommended another historic shift in the United Methodist Church. Submitted legislation sought to allow...
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Conferences react to UMC stance on gay issues
Rejecting the denomination’s stance on gay rights and same-sex marriage were important issues for at least 15 United Methodist Annual this summer. United Methodists from Washington and the northern...
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Bishop Sally Dyck endorses same-sex marriage proposal in Illinois
Bishop Sally Dyck of the UMC’s Northern Illinois Conference announced her support Jan. 10 for legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Illinois. “While the United Methodist Church holds that the...
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Bishop Dyck disputes ‘disunity’ charge
Bishop Sally Dyck’s recent statement endorsing same-sex marriage has drawn praise and criticism within the United Methodist Church, which officially holds that homosexual conduct is “incompatible with...
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Lambrecht: Don’t ignore Scripture in weighing UM position on homosexuality
By Thomas A. Lambrecht, Special Contributor… I appreciate the opportunity to engage the views of the Rev. Thomas Ogletree, who currently stands charged with performing a same-sex marriage in conscious...
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US Court rulings impact same-sex couples
By Heather Hahn, UMNS… Julie Bruno (right) and Susan Laurie serve Holy Communion to guests following their 2008 marriage ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas. A UMNS file photo by Paul Jeffrey. The full...
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Reconciling Ministries Network director responds to the Council of Bishops...
In a statement released on RMNBlog (the blog site for the Reconciling Ministries Network(RMN)) Matt Barryman, RMN Executive Director expressed disappointment with the October 23 letter from the United...
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Bishop Swenson dissents from COB Birmingham statement
RMNBlog, run by the Reconciling Ministries Network, published a dissent by Bishop Mary Ann Swenson today from the statement issued by the Council of Bishops Executive Committee urging Bishop Melvin...
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Recently Read: Many weigh in on Talbert action
Former UMR editor Sam Hodges offered a digest today on the UMCConnections blog of the various statements and blog posts written in response to Bishop Melvin G. Talbert’s plan to preside at a same-sex...
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Bishop follows through on commitment to conduct same sex wedding
Center Point, AL – United Methodist Bishop Melvin G. Talbert followed through on his announced commitment to join in marriage Bobby Prince and Joe Openshaw, a same-sex couple who are members of the...
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Editor’s Notes: Joe and Bobby are married. What now?
For the past week it seemed like all that any of us United Methodist news nerds could talk about was the ongoing struggle between Bishop Mel Talbert and the Council of Bishops as he prepared to...
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Good News president releases video on Bishop Talbert
Good News president Rob Renfroe released a video statement this afternoon on Bishop Melvin G. Talbert’s disobedience of United Methodist church law in presiding at a celebration of marriage for a gay...
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Recently Read: Ministers defy church by presiding at same-sex union
APRIL SAUL, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Photographer PHILADELPHIA, Penn — Some 50 United Methodist ministers defied the United Methodist Church’s (UMC) proscriptions against participating in ceremonies...
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Pennsylvania pastor trial underway
Supporters of The Rev. Frank Schaefer wait to gain admission to today’s trial at Camp Innabah in Sprint City, Pa. UMR Photo by Erik Alsgaard SPRING CITY, Pa. — The Rev. Frank Schaefer has pleaded not...
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Schaefer Trial Update: Accuser and defendant have their say
SPRING CITY, Pa — The counsel for the church and the defense have rested their respective cases in the trial of the Rev. Frank Schaefer, the United Methodist pastor charged with presiding at the...
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Schaefer found guilty on both counts
SPRING CITY, Pa. — The Rev. Frank Schaefer, the United Methodist pastor on trial for presiding at the wedding of his son, was found guilty this evening by a jury of his peers of disobeying the...
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Bishop Johnson responds to questions on Schaefer trial
Bishop Peggy Johnson of the Philadelphia Episcopal Area, which includes the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference where the Rev. Frank Schaefer is a clergy member, responded to questions from The...
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Opinions differ on a moratorium for church trials
It was an expensive media spectacle. A United Methodist pastor had presided at the marriage ceremony of his gay son and his partner, and several years later was brought before a jury of his peers to...
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10 Retired Clergy Say They Will Officiate at Weddings of Same-Sex Couples
Even though their denomination’s policy officially prohibits clergy from officiating at the wedding of any same-sex couple at the risk of losing their ordination, ten retired United Methodist clergy...
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Why same-sex marriage is expected to heat up this election among evangelicals
By SARAH PULLIAM BAILEY c. 2014 Religion News Service (RNS) As more states affirm same-sex marriage, U.S. evangelicals continue to wrestle with homosexuality, setting boundaries for what’s acceptable...
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