With The United Methodist Church’s removal of anti-gay stances, advocates for LGBTQ equality see reasons to celebrate but also challenges ahead in the denomination and wider world.
Some are smaller, and some are bigger, but changes have come in the 2020/2024 Book of Discipline for local churches, annual conferences, and general agencies.
The Rev. Dr. Rebekah Miles, a veteran General Conference delegate, writes about what the removal of the Discipline’s longtime anti-gay stance means for The United Methodist Church and for her personally.
2024 was a year of great change for The United Methodist Church and the world. General Conference brought big changes for the denomination, while wars and severe weather left millions of people displaced. The contentious U.S. presidential election fueled concerns over immigration, reproductive rights and other issues. But in a world filled with uncertainty, United Methodists continued to live out their faith. UM News documents a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.
