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More United Methodists are throwing their support behind clergy in California who want to perform same-sex “marriages” despite the denomination’s stance that homosexual practice is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
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On Thursday, delegates from the Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference of the United Methodist Church – from Maine south to West Virginia – approved a resolution expressing respect for clergy in the California regional bodies who participate in wedding same-sex couples “as a matter of Christian conscience, spiritual discernment and prophetic witnessing,” as reported by the United Methodist News Service.
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| In April, measures that would have removed the ban on noncelibate gay pastors and the statement that homosexual practice is “incompatible with Christian teaching” were voted down after emotional debates.
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| In the following months, however, regional conferences have approved measures supporting homosexuals after the California Supreme Court legalized gay “marriage” on May 15.
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