| The Methodist Church will probably
split in two over homosexuality,
and that's bad for all of us The Methodist Church added "united" to its name after merging with another denomination in 1968. But for much of the past 52 years, unity has proved elusive. That's been especially true at meetings of the church's top legislative body, the General Conference, where factions have fought for decades about sexuality and Scripture. After the church strengthened its bans on partnered LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage last year, many Methodists argued that a split was likely inevitable. "The situation here has become so toxic that the church was basically dysfunctional," said the Rev. Keith Boyette, leader of the conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association. Last week, Boyette was one of 16 United Methodist leaders to propose a divorce decree for their church. With the help of a renowned mediation lawyer, conservatives, liberals and centrists gathered in secret for months, sweating the details of a pact they hope will split the church without producing messy and expensive lawsuits. Jan Lawrence, head of the pro-LGBTQ Reconciling Ministries Network, called the deal imperfect, but said it will "end the othering and marginalization of parts of God's creation." While presenting their proposal last week, Methodlst leaders offered themselves as an example to a polarized country. Look how we agreed to disagree and walk away, they said. Other Methodists agree: Only lawyers like costly lawsuits. But some also wonder how dividing the church could be a good thing. The United Methodist Church is one of the few places in American life where people as different as Hillary Clinton and Jeff Sessions can share the same pew. If the proposed schism is approved, that likely won't be true anymore. | 