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Gay Rights debate expected at national Methodist conference
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| Contributor | Gerald Farinas |
| Last Edited | Gerald Farinas Mar 22, 2004 03:52pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | News Service - Associated Press |
| News Date | Monday, March 22, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Gay Rights debate expected at national Methodist conference
The Honolulu Advertiser
The swirling debate over gay rights in the United Methodist Church likely will continue to roil the denomination despite the acquittal of a lesbian pastor in Washington state, church leaders say. The Methodist church's stance on homosexuality is on the agenda of its next General Conference, which begins April 27 in Pittsburgh. The conference, made up of nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world, is the denomination's top lawmaking body. Rifts over homosexuality have developed in other Christian denominations - most notably the Episcopal Church, which confirmed an openly gay bishop last year. Since then, several conservative parishes have threatened to break ties with the denomination.
Over the weekend, a 13-pastor Methodist jury acquitted the Rev. Karen Dammann, 47, of violating a church ban on ordaining "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals." The church cannot appeal the verdict. While the Dammann case is making headlines, the issue is nothing new to the United Methodist Church, the nation's third-largest denomination with 8.5 million U.S. members. |
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