HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — The United Methodist Church overturned an existing ban that restricted LGBTQ clergy on Wednesday.
The rule was enacted in the ‘80s.
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ABC15 spoke with a member of a local Carolina Forest Methodist Church who said she’s excited about the decision to remove anti-LGBTQ language from their book of discipline.
That member said the motion is one she hopes will bring full inclusion into the life of the church for all congregation members.
The nearly 40-year-old rule banned ‘self-avowed practicing homosexuals’ who are part of the United Methodist Church from becoming clergy members.
The language was later added banning clergy from performing or celebrating same-sex marriage.
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“I’m excited about the decision because any time people take action to be more inclusive, and to everyone in the life of the church, that’s a good thing,” Ann Sowers, a member of Joseph B. Bethea United Methodist Church, said.
The change comes just months after more than 100 churches in South Carolina disaffiliated from the United Methodist denomination.
“A couple churches in the area did decide to leave the UM denomination and either go independent or join another denomination. They were not happy with the direction that the UMC as a whole was moving, so they felt they needed to leave and go in a different direction,” Sowers said.
She said the reason for disaffiliation is different for each parish, but she believes many did so as a response to the church being more lenient on same-sex marriage.
“I will say that Joseph B. Bethea has always been a UMC, open hearts, open minds, open doors. You come as you are,” Sowers added.
She said her congregation has always strived to be inclusive of everyone.
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As for how the Joseph B. Bethea congregation will respond to this change, Sowers said it’s too early to tell.
“This decision is new, it’s fresh, it’s today. We need time to process that as to how we will respond and how we will incorporate that into the life of our individual congregation,” she said.
Sowers said the overturn simply removes language from their rules and really doesn’t say yes or no to anything.
113 South Carolina UMC churches were approved to disaffiliate and leave the denomination in June.
As of 2022, there were more than 5 million church members across the United States, according to UMC.org.
