¶ 4. Article IV. Inclusiveness of the Church
The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth. All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status,4 or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection.5 In The United Methodist Church no conference or other organizational unit of the Church shall be structured so as to exclude any member or any constituent body of the Church because of race, color, national origin, status or economic condition.6
4. Amended 1992.
5. Amended 2000.
6. See Judicial Council Decisions 242, 246, 340, 351, 362, 377, 398, 594, 601, and Decisions 4 and 5, Interim Judicial Council.
¶ 214. Eligibility
The United Methodist Church is a part of the holy catholic (universal) church, as we confess in the Apostles' Creed. In the church, Jesus Christ is proclaimed and professed as Lord and Savior. All people may attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments and become members in any local church in the connection (¶ 4). In the case of persons whose disabilities prevent them from reciting the vows, their legal guardian[s], themselves members in full covenant relationship with God and the Church, the community of faith, may recite the appropriate vows on their behalf.
¶ 304.2 Qualifications for Ordination
2. For the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most effective witness to the Christian gospel, and in consideration of the influence of an ordained minister on the lives of other persons both within and outside the Church, the Church expects those who seek ordination to make a complete dedication of themselves to the highest ideals of the Christian life. To this end, they agree to exercise responsible self-control by personal habits conducive to bodily health, mental and emotional maturity, integrity in all personal relationships, social responsibility, faithful sexual intimacy expressed through fidelity, monogamy, commitment, mutual affection and respect, careful and honest communication, mutual consent, and growth in grace and in the knowledge and love of God.
¶ 368 Readmission after Termination by the Annual Conference
Persons who have been terminated, surrendered, or have had their membership and license for ministry revoked by an annual conference or one of its legal predecessors due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or for celebrating a same gender wedding or union may have their orders and membership reinstated through the following.
1. The former clergyperson prior to May 15, 2025, shall request in writing to the chair of the board of ordained ministry and bishop to have their full membership, provisional membership, or license for ministry reinstated and their ordination or consecration certificate returned in the annual conference in which they previously held membership or through which they were licensed, or its legal successor.
2. The board of ordained ministry shall approve the request by 2/3 vote and recommend to the clergy session the reinstatement of the former clergyperson.
3. The clergy session may approve reinstatement of the former clergyperson by a 2/3 vote. A 2/3 affirmative vote shall reinstate the clergyperson immediately and the individual may receive an appointment either ad interim if one is available or in the next appointment cycle if reinstatement is less than 120 days prior to the new appointment year.
If these three occur, the individual shall be reinstated and given membership and ordination certificates and is a member at the status of their previous membership (full member, provisional member, or local pastor) with all rights and privileges of that membership. They shall also receive an ordination or provisional certificate equal to the certificate that the individual surrendered.
If a board of ordained ministry or a clergy session does not reinstate the individual because of conscience, an individual may request or the bishop may request that the individual may be reviewed by another annual conference. In such an instance, if additional time is needed to make this second request, the request period may be extended from May 1, 2025, to November 15, 2025.
¶ 425.1 Appointment Making [Responsibility]
1. Clergy shall be appointed by the bishop, who is empowered to make and fix all appointments in the episcopal area of which the annual conference is a part. Appointments are to be made with consideration of the gifts and evidence of God’s grace of those appointed, to the needs, characteristics, and opportunities of congregations and institutions, and with faithfulness to the commitment to an open itineracy. Open itineracy means appointments are made without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, color, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or age, except for the provisions of mandatory retirement. Annual conferences shall, in their training of staff-parish relations committees, emphasize the open nature of itineracy and prepare congregations to receive the gifts and graces of appointed clergy without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, color, disability, marital status, economic condition, sexual orientation, or age. The concept of itineracy is important, and sensitive attention should be given in appointing clergy with physical challenges to responsibilities and duties that meet their gifts and graces. Through appointment making, the connectional nature of the United Methodist system is made visible
¶425.2 Appointment Making [across conference lines]
2. Appointment-making across conference lines shall be encouraged as a way of creating mobility and open itineracy. The jurisdictional committee on ordained ministry will cooperate with bishops and cabinets in providing information on supply and demand within the jurisdiction. Elders in good standing who identify as LGBTQ may be appointed across annual conference lines and within the jurisdiction when the residing bishop cannot locate an appointment within their annual conference for reasons of the safety and well-being of the elder.
¶ 613 Responsibilities [of the conference council on finance]
The [conference council on finance and administration] shall have authority and responsibility to perform the following functions:
19. To ensure19. To ensure that no annual conference board, agency, committee, commission, or council shall give United Methodist funds to any group, or otherwise use such funds, to reject any LGBTQIA+ person or openly discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people, in order to follow to commitment of The UMC “not to reject or condemn lesbian or gay members and friends”(see The Book of Discipline, 2016, ¶ 161G), and to honor our commitment to the inclusion of all people in the life of the church “that enables all persons to participate in the life of the Church, the community, and the world” (¶ 140). The council shall have the right to stop such expenditures. Funding shall not be provided for dialogs or educational events where rejection of LGBTQIA+ persons is promoted.
¶ 705.1.b General Agency and Connectional Table Membership [Nominations]
b) Each annual and missionary conference in the United States shall nominate the persons most recently elected as delegates to the General Conference to the jurisdictional pool. In addition, it may nominate at least fifteen and not more than forty-five persons to the jurisdictional pool, including, where available, at least two racial and ethnic persons from each of the ethnic groups: Asian American, African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Pacific Islanders; and where available at least one and not more than five persons in each of the following eight categories: (1) clergy (including at least one woman), (2) laywomen, (3) laymen, (4) youth (¶ 710.3), (5) young adults (¶ 710.3), (6) older adults, (7) persons with disabilities, and (8) LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) persons. Elected members of General and jurisdictional delegations, and others nominated by their annual conference shall list all of the categories for which they qualify, i.e., nationality, age, gender, ethnicity, etc., and shall be eligible to be nominated by the jurisdictional nominating committee to a general Church body in any one of the categories for which a delegate is qualified.
¶ 806.9 Fiscal Responsibilities [of the General Council on Finance and Administration]
9. To ensure that no annual conference board, agency, committee, commission, or council shall give United Methodist funds to any group or otherwise use such funds to reject any LGBTQIA+ person or limits the response to the HIV epidemic, in order to follow the commitment of The United Methodist Church “not to reject or condemn lesbian or gay members and friends” (see The Book of Discipline, 2016, ¶ 161G). The council shall have the right to stop such expenditures.
¶ 1302.16 General Board of Global Ministries [Responsibilities]
16. Provide training, resources, and consultation for and with all levels of the global church to actively resist intersecting structures of white supremacy, heterosexism, sexism, patriarchy, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, colonialism, and classism.
¶ 1315.1.c.3-4 United Methodist Committee on Relief [Responsibilities]
(3) work cooperatively with the appropriate conference units, ecumenical bodies, interdenominational agencies and other partners in the identification of, advocacy for, and assistance with ministries with displaced persons, hunger and poverty, disaster response, and disaster risk reduction;
(4) administer these ministries described in subparagraph three (3) above in the spirit of Jesus Christ, preserving the dignity of persons without regard to religion, race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or economic condition, and seek to enhance the quality of life in the human community;
In addition, the following bodies are encouraged to include LGBTQ persons in their organizations by listing sexual orientation among those the categories annual conferences, districts, or episcopal areas recommended to place on the following bodies for the sake of diversity and full representation: Conference Council on Youth Ministry (¶649.2), Conference Council on Young Adult Ministry (¶ 650.2), Conference Council on Older Adult Ministry (¶ 651.2), District Council on Youth Ministry (¶ 672.2), the denominational Commission on Religion and Race (¶ 2003.4) and ecumenical bodies to which bishops appoint United Methodist members (¶ 431.4).
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2020/2024. Copyright 2024 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
