METHODISTS ON ROAD TO DIVISION
OVER HUMAN RIGHTS

All major news outlets are reporting today that the United Methodist Church is moving toward division into two churches on the question of equality for and inclusion of open homosexuals in the life of the church. For instance, see the report on CNN here . A sixteen member commission of the church is proposing the split in order to allow both parts to continue with their different understandings of human sexuality (be sure to read the proposal itself; there is a link in the CNN article). If you Google this topic, you will find a long list of national newspapers with articles today about the impending division. Any proposal would have to be approved by a worldwide conference of the United Methodist Church, in May of this year. 

One will recall that last year the UMC narrowly adopted a conservative proposal including a ban on same-sex marriage, a rejection of open homosexuals in the clergy, and retention of the Book of Discipline's statement: "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."