Oklahomans weigh in as United Methodist Church lifts ban on LGBTQ+ clergy ordination

"It's about time."

That thought bubbled to the surface on Wednesday when the Rev. Valerie Steele, of Oklahoma City, learned that her long-held hope had been realized: the United Methodist Church overturned a 40-year ban on ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy.

"I thought it's about time and then I thought, it's past time ― and I'm grateful," Steele said.

Her colleague in the ministry, the Rev. Trina Bose-North, traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, so she could witness what she anticipated would be a historic vote and the beginning of new era in the United Methodist Church. Wednesday, Bose-North, senior minister of Crown Heights United Methodist Church, said she celebrated in the hallways with other progressives after ballots were cast at the denomination's General Conference meeting. Their elation came after years of debate over LGBTQ+ full inclusion that resulted the splintering of the international denomination.

More: 'Historic' plan would allow United Methodists to establish standards according to region

"This is a big deal — it's a 'wow' moment," Bose-North said. "We gathered and sang, prayed and lifted up the names of people whose call (to the clergy) was denied due to the discriminatory language in our Book of Discipline."

Steele and Bose-North were among Oklahoma United Methodist leaders who expressed their joy after the United Methodist Church's lawmaking assembly voted overwhelmingly to remove from the denomination's Book of Discipline wording that prohibited a "self-avowed practicing homosexual" from becoming clergy.

The vote, they said, had been a long time coming since the denomination added the wording banning openly LGBTQ+ individuals from becoming members of the clergy. Steele, senior pastor of Quail Springs United Methodist, and Bose-North both lead congregations that are part of the Reconciling Ministries Network that has been advocating for LGBTQ+ full inclusion in the denomination.

Bose-North said she expected more anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and rules to be addressed on Thursday.

She said overturning the LGBTQ+ clergy ordination ban was a significant step toward full inclusion and she was happy that delegates also voted on Wednesday to remove penalties for ministers who choose to officiate at same-sex weddings. However, the Oklahoma City pastor said she hoped to see more "discriminatory" language removed from the denomination's Book of Discipline, particularly the statement that marriage is between a man and a woman.

"That's what we're waiting on," Bose-North said.

The Rev. Kathy Brown, senior pastor of another Reconciling congregation, Tulsa's St. Paul's, said she was celebrating.

"I am shedding happy tears," she said. "It has been a long hard fight for justice."

Two General Conference delegates representing the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference weighed in on the historic day, as well. Chantelle Foster, a lay delegate from Edmond, said she was hopeful for the future of the denomination.

"I see us voting as if we are more concerned with our unity as followers of Jesus Christ instead of focusing on our differences," she said. "We are making decisions today that are moving toward removal of exclusionary language."

The Rev. Sam Powers, a district superintendent with the Oklahoma United Methodist Church, said Wednesday's action might result in some nervousness on the part of some small churches in rural Oklahoma, which he described as generally conservative. He said these congregations may wonder if their conference leaders may now appoint a member of the LGBTQ+ community as their pastor.

But he said bishops "would likely not send a gay clergyperson to a church that finds itself in opposition, so as to care for the church and the clergyperson. But we do celebrate with people that have felt God's call upon their lives and have been previously barred from serving"

Powers said removing the anti-LGBTQ+ clergy prohibition from the Book of Discipline simply neutralizes the clergy criteria.

'We knew this was coming'

Views varied among Oklahoma ministers who withdrew from the United Methodist Church as their congregations disaffiliated from the denomination.

The Rev. Mark McAdow, senior minister of Willow View Methodist Church in Enid, said he was saddened by news that the United Methodist Church had "moved in a direction away from scripture."

Willow View disaffiliated from the denomination in 2022, as part of the first of three groups of Oklahoma churches that disaffiliated over disagreements about the scriptural compatibility of same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ clergy ordination. All total, 127 Oklahoma churches disaffiliated during special sessions held by the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference in 2022 and 2023.

More: Numerous Oklahoma churches left the United Methodist Church. How did other regions fare?

"I don't think the decision today was unexpected by those of us who have been involved in this ministry for a long time — that's the very reason that our church and some other churches disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church," McAdow said.

"We knew this was coming and this is where we had to take our stance because we don't believe it's scriptural in any regard and we wanted to be able to say that we trust God and His Holy Word that is unchanging and always reliable. So, we are sad for the United Methodist Church today."

Meanwhile, the Rev. D.A. Bennett, whose south Oklahoma CIty church also left the United Methodist Church in 2022, said he wasn't surprised that his former denomination had changed its stance regarding LGBTQ+ clergy.

"The issues have been divisive for decades, and the exit of a number of more conservative churches in the United States shifted the balance of a voting bloc to more progressive delegates," said Bennett, senior pastor of St. Andrew's Community Church.

Both Bennett's and McAdow's churches are currently affiliated with the Global Methodist Church, a relatively new Methodist denomination that launched in May 2022.

The overwhelming reason for our disaffiliation was the defiance of the Book of Discipline and defiance of rulings of the Judicial Council," Bennett said. "Thus, we believed the best future for St. Andrew's was to disaffiliate, and seek connection with the Global Methodist Church."

'A new day'

A former United Methodist pastor who was happy about Wednesday's historic vote was the Rev. Scott Spencer, senior minister of Mosaic Community Church.

Like Crown Heights United Methodist and Quail Springs United Methodist, Spencer's church had been part of the Reconciling Ministries Network and had been fighting for full inclusion for LGBTQ+ members for years. The church evolved from Epworth United Methodist (now defunct), one of the first Reconciling network congregations in Oklahoma. Nevertheless, Spencer and his congregation voted to disaffiliate from the denomination in 2023.

Wednesday, Spencer said he was glad to see General Conference delegates make what he considered long-awaited changes for his former denomination.

"It's a new day in the UMC!" he posted on his church's Facebook page.

"I, along with all of us at Mosaic Community Church, celebrate with our United Methodist siblings!"

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: United Methodist Church lifts ban on LGBTQ+ clergy ordination