Richland Church Goes Against Leadership To Support Gay Marriage

A church in our area will be taking a stand for what they believe in, breaking with their worldwide conference.

Gull Lake United Methodist Church in Richland issued a press release on Wednesday, saying that they voted on a statement that said in part “We welcome all, including same sex couples to be united in marriage in our sanctuary in a service officiated by our pastors.” The vote ultimately came out 82 percent yes, and 13 percent no. They say that there will be a vote on a similar statement at the state-wide Methodist Church Conference next week, and at the worldwide conference in 2020 a vote on official church policy on LGBTQ issues will be voted on as well.

This move puts them at odds with the United Methodist Church General Conference; in February of this year, the global vote actually reaffirmed policy which said “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”, and also introduced penalties for breaking those rules.

It’s possible that as a result, the Gull Lake church could actually lose their credentials if the organization decides to enforce the policy.