‘Not a gay church’: UMC of Liberia won't bless same-sex marriages, ordain LGBT clergy
The United Methodist Church in Liberia will not bless same-sex unions or ordain noncelibate homosexual clergy even after the denomination voted to allow both practices.
Liberian Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr. released a statement earlier this month in response to the UMC General Conference voting overwhelmingly to remove rules from the UMC Book of Discipline prohibiting same-sex marriage and ordination.
Quire vowed that "the Liberia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church will not conduct any weddings or ordinations of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals."
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"The Liberia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church is traditional in its interpretation of Holy Scripture and will continue its evangelistic outreach to all persons who live in darkness and do not know the redemptive grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ," he stated.
"To all United Methodists in Liberia and our Liberian public, The United Methodist Church is not a GAY Church! It is a strong Church of God administering to sinners who are in need of the saving knowledge and grace of God!"
Some in the Liberian conference are calling for a special session of the regional body to vote on leaving the UMC over the Book of Discipline changes, reported UM News.
At the UMC General Conference in late April to early May in Charlotte, delegates voted to remove from the Book of Discipline a host of rules like the ban on same-sex marriage ceremonies, the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and the funding of LGBT advocacy groups. General Conference delegates also voted to remove a statement from the Book of Discipline declaring that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching."
These changes were aided by the recent departure of around 7,500 primarily conservative congregations from the UMC over disagreement with the refusal of many progressive leaders in the UMC to enforce the rules in the Book of Discipline related to LGBT issues.
Rev. Jerry P. Kulah, head of the Liberia Annual Conference delegation, was among African General Conference delegates who signed a statement criticizing the votes as "officially contradict[ing] the Bible's teaching on marriage and sexual morality."
"We return to Africa with important decisions to make regarding the future," they stated.
Since the changes, some churches and conferences in the global denomination have either opted to leave the UMC or have stated that they will not allow the officiation of same-sex weddings.
The UMC Côte d'Ivoire Conference, a regional body with more than 1 million members that had been affiliated with the UMC since 2004, voted to leave the denomination over the changes.
At the General Conference, the delegates voted to allow the Eurasian Episcopal Area, based in Eastern Europe, to disaffiliate from the denomination.
Highland Park United Methodist Church of Dallas, Texas, a prominent megachurch, announced last month that its would not allow same-sex weddings on its property, though they would permit pastors to officiate such unions at other venues.
"For 108 years, through 13 different senior ministers, Highland Park has always maintained the traditional definition and understanding of Christian marriage when it comes to weddings within our worship facilities," explained Highland Park Senior Minister Paul Rasmussen. "We are going to continue to uphold the traditional definition of marriage in our worship venues."
