The proposal to allow opponents of LGBTQ marriage and ordination to split from the United Methodist denomination and form their own group is “probably the best solution at this point,” Utah’s Rev. Rusty Butler said Friday.
Powerful representatives of traditional and progressive wings of the church have been meeting for several months and concluded it would be best to divide into separate denominations, said Butler, pastor at the 600-member Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City, and “made a unanimous decision.”
If the proposal is approved at the faith’s General Conference in May, local congregations can choose to remain with the United Methodist denomination, which has approved same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy.