Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah,
Georgia announced on Thursday that it has completed the process of
disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church (UMC) over LGBT
rights.
In a press release, Asbury Memorial
said that it believes it is the first church in the United States to
leave the denomination “due to its unequal treatment of LGBTQ
people.”
Church officials voted on Asbury
Memorial's desire to disaffiliate from the UMC at its annual South
Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church held last month.
Asbury Memorial will become an
independent non-denominational church.
Asbury Memorial said that its decision
to leave the UMC came after church leaders voted last year to
strengthen its bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT
clergy. At a meeting held last year in St. Louis, delegates voted
down a proposal that sought to allow local and regional church bodies
to decide on such issues. Instead, delegates approved language
upholding UMC policy established in 1972 which states that “the
practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”
“Our LGBTQ members have helped us
become a growing vital congregation in the Savannah community,”
Pastor Billy Hester said in a statement. “Our worship and ethos
will continue to be based on Wesleyan theology – which is at the
root of the Methodist church.”
Asbury Memorial, which is currently
holding virtual worship during the coronavirus pandemic, said that it
is planning a series of new initiatives in September, including a
special ceremony to recognize couples who have not been able to marry
at Asbury Memorial since late 2016, when the church stopped all
weddings until it can include same-sex couples.