A Texas congregation has voted that no couples can be married within its walls until the denomination permits same-sex weddings.First United Methodist Church voted on September 24, with 93 per cent of the vote in favour of the temporary prohibition on wedding ceremonies.
The church's senior pastor, Taylor Fuerst, commented that he hopes the vote 'will have a uniting effect on the congegation', which includes a number of LGBTQ individuals. 'It communicates even more to our city that if you are in the LGBTQ community that you are not tolerated here, but you are embraced.'
The Book of Discipline, the document which governs the denomination, states that all individuals are of sacred worth but the practice of homosexuality 'is incompatible with Christian teaching.' The denomination also has a ban on same-sex unions being performed by pastors or hosted by churches. ...