The not-so-United Methodist Church, a prominent Christian group in the United States has been dwindling in numbers since 2019, when more than 7,000 congregations were given approval to leave the Methodist Church. This great American Methodist schism was provoked by stances on LGBTQ+ rights. The results of the schism are a fractured United Methodist Church (having lost about ¼ of its following), and the Global Methodists, a denomination devoted to upholding “theological and ethical Christian Orthodoxy.” While the Global Methodists maintain the conservative practice of not recognizing queer unions in their church, the United Methodists have made massive steps toward equality for people of different sexual orientations and gender identities. 

Since 1972, the rulebook for United Methodists has had a line stating that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. As recently as 2019, marrying gay couples would be punishable with the inability to practice as a member of the clergy on the first offense, and permanent exclusion on a second offense. However, the tune has changed since the schism of the United and Global Methodists. In the last week of April 2024, delegates met and came to the decision that same-sex unions would be able to be sanctioned in the church, and queer clergy would be allowed to be ordained. 

This ruling is a massive step for the many queer Christians who now know that they are welcome within this massive denomination. While the United Methodist Church may now be further fractured by this decision, it is unifying for Christians, the LGBTQ+ community, and allies of either group. The newfound ability of queer individuals to practice and be accepted within the United Methodist Church is a matter of community and a testament to the right for all people to have comfort both in their fellow man (or whomever they would like) as well as in their God.