The Uniting Methodists group went beyond talking up the One Church Plan to discussing strategy and tactics for getting it passed at the special General Conference set for February 2019. Read More

The Council of Bishops has asked the denomination’s top court to rule on the constitutionality of some of the legislation heading to the 2019 special General Conference. Read More

Some have endorsed the bishops’ recommended One Church Model. Some want a more traditionalist approach. Read More

The Mississippi Conference says departing members of First United Methodist Church in Louisville can’t take the property with them. Now the matter heads to court. Read More

Focus now turns to how the special General Conference will determine which pieces of legislation are “in harmony” with its stated purpose. Read More

A number of delegations to special General Conference are reading “The Anatomy of Peace” to prepare for their work. Here's why. Read More

In a two-hour session, streamed online, Judicial Council heard arguments about petitions related to the special General Conference in 2019. Read More

The Commission on General Conference approved registration fees for visitors to GC2019. A big concern is helping delegates do their work. Read More

Some bishops expect three plans will be submitted as legislation to the special General Conference. Other bishops emphasize only one plan has their recommendation. Read More

Bishops themselves are choosing to emphasize different parts of their motion for a Way Forward. Advocacy groups are also making their thoughts known. Read More

Council of Bishops president said the church is watching as bishops finalize recommendations aimed at fending off church splits over homosexuality. Read More

Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball said United Methodists will need a new approach to General Conference if they are to move through their impasse around homosexuality. Read More

Two Mississippi churches exited The United Methodist Church last year, and now two more want to withdraw. The pastor cites ongoing homosexuality debate. Read More

United Methodist leaders acknowledge that the church is not immune to sexual misconduct, and they pledge to take such allegations seriously. Read More

The Rev. David Meredith is openly gay and married. This step could lead to a church trial, but that is not a foregone conclusion. Read More

As church heads into ‘uncharted waters,’ the Commission on General Conference offers an overview of what to expect in 2019. Read More

The Austin, Texas, church sees its vote as a way of showing solidarity with LGBTQ people even as the denomination does not allow same-gender marriage. Read More

Two North Texas clergy faced complaints under church law — a retired pastor for officiating at the wedding and another for hosting it. Read More

The Uniting Methodists Movement seeks to give voice to those who think differences around homosexuality should not divide church. Read More

About 200 United Methodists are among 500 at interfaith advocacy event in Austin, Texas, encouraging a vote against bill affecting transgender people. Read More

The denomination’s long-running debate about LGBTQ people was on display, as was many conferences’ commitment to the sojourner. Read More

The commission is looking at new ways to embody unity amid deep divisions around homosexuality. But it’s not ready to share those plans. Read More

The Rev. Anna Blaedel, a campus minister, told the Iowa Annual Conference last year that she is “a self-avowed practicing homosexual.” Read More

Denmark and California-Pacific take on language at core of homosexuality debate. Read More

The United Methodist Church has no official position on transgender clergy. M Barclay is believed to be the church’s first non-binary trans person to be commissioned. Read More

The Judicial Council ruled that a same-gender marriage license creates a presumption of homosexual practice. That’s a big deal, church legal analysts say. Read More

Council of Bishops’ president speaks candidly to colleagues of leadership challenges amid divisions over homosexuality. Read More

The Council of Bishops will use that report in drafting proposals to submit to the special General Conference. At present, two options are the main focus. Read More

Bishops heard from institutions that could see their ministries harmed if the church splits. Institutional leaders said they left feeling more hopeful about the church’s future. Read More

Bishops have focused on two possibilities for how the church ministers with LGBTQ individuals, with a traditionalist plan waiting in the wings. Delegates share views on proposals so far. Read More

As United Methodist General Conference 2019 approaches, this overview offers members details about efforts helping shape the future of the denomination. Read More

No one possibility for LGBTQ inclusion predominates, commission members said. But they did offer some more details. Read More

As the church’s debate about its future intensifies, bishops say they are hearing of increased animosity leading in some cases to disrupted worship. Read More

The bishops are looking at three possibilities of LGBTQ inclusion sketched by the Commission on Way Forward. Read More

Bishop Ough, Council of Bishops president, spoke as his colleagues were about to begin discussing a report by the Commission on a Way Forward. Read More

In a conference call, Bishop Ken Carter stressed that the Commission on a Way Forward serves the bishops, as it seeks to find a way through the denomination’s impasse. Read More

Some members express cautious optimism for church unity. Another member has written about why he sees a need for a church split. Read More

Some endorse Commission on a Way Forward’s approach. Others say it violates the church’s stance on transparency. Read More

The commission asked various United Methodists to describe their preferences regarding the extent of the inclusion of LGBTQ people within the church. Read More

The special meeting will deal solely with the work of the Commission on a Way Forward, charged with finding ways to foster church unity amid deep differences around homosexuality. Read More

As the commission works toward church unity, some members say the group is contemplating “loosening the connection.” Read More

Commission members have a broad desire for the church to stay in connection and expect that connection to look very different in the near future. Read More

Commission members, charged with dealing with church unity and the homosexuality debate, talked about where they see potential points of agreement. Read More

Some greet the new body with cautious optimism while others question who won’t be in the room. Read More

"There is no other way to get to where we should be as a church but through the controversy, through the disagreements and arguments." Read More

"God pledges to protect us when we walk in his paths. I want and need God's protection." Read More

“I serve a church where most of the folks freely embrace the teaching of the church on these issues, and some equally faithful members do not.” Read More

“We sin against God when we choose to believe that someone is ‘less than,’ unworthy of being treated as a sacred child of God.” Read More

“We are treated to a smorgasbord of eternal truth, but some, like spoiled children, refuse to eat their veggies.” Read More

“Keith had lived with what was then considered a death sentence, and he hadn’t been able to share that with his own family.” Read More

“My eyes were pried wide open. The church has been blind to a host of sexual issues.” Read More

“How we deal with controversies and differences of opinion says a lot about our view of the church, and our unity and covenant fellowship. “ Read More

“A war was raging in my heart, and my soul was dying. I was living a life that asked God to conform to my sense of morality.” Read More

“I have long been convinced that rational thought is important in overcoming the ‘we’ and ‘they’ syndrome.” Read More

“My emotions consisted of concern for the viability of The United Methodist Church as a Christian denomination in a rapidly changing world.” Read More

“I talk to many of our clergy and laity who are quite concerned about where our church is going and what the future holds for us.” Read More

“I realized a long time ago that my feelings and opinions about sexuality issues don't have that much to do with sexual minorities at all.” Read More

“I dug a little deeper to see what the Bible says about homosexuality, and I was surprised by what I found.” Read More

"As Alex shared his struggles, we followed our natural impulse: we opened our Bibles." Read More

“What concerns me really isn’t so much what is one’s individual theological position, or what is or isn’t sin or correct biblical interpretation.” Read More

“Never in a million years could I have foreseen the anguish that I would experience as a pastor because of the church’s struggles with human sexuality.” Read More

"Can we talk...?" features presentations and personal stories along with materials designed to get church members talking. More

Readers will gain a different way of understanding the issues that keep people away from Christianity and keep Christians from living their faith. More

Books and other resources about human sexuality and The United Methodist Church. Read More