On February 26, 2019, a Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church meeting in St. Louis adopted a proposal to strengthen the enforcement of prohibitions against gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages. 

Bishop Wright’s Statement

“I was sorry to learn that at the Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church a plan was adopted to strengthen the enforcement of prohibitions against LGBTQIA+ ordination and marriage.”

“As we mark the 400th anniversary of Africans in America this year I am obligated to speak against any plan or proposal by any church, especially my own, that intends to make some of God’s children an inferior class of baptized people. In the beloved community that is present, and on the way, there are no second-class citizens, only siblings. I know I hold this view in common with many people across denominations and expressions of faith.”

“To my LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters, the Episcopal Church is not a perfect church, but know that you are welcome in the congregations of The Diocese of Atlanta.”

Timeline

In 1976, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church declared that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church.” Since then, faithful Episcopalians have been working toward a greater understanding and radical inclusion of all of God’s children.

In 2003, the first openly gay bishop was consecrated; in 2009, General Convention resolved that God’s call is open to all; in 2012, a provisional rite of blessing for same-gender relationships was authorized, and discrimination against transgender persons in the ordination process was officially prohibited; and in 2015, the canons of the church were changed to make the rite of marriage available to all people, regardless of gender.

For more information on ministries of the Diocese to and with members of the LGBTQIA+ communities, go to: https://www.episcopalatlanta.org/lgbtqministries/

The Diocese of Atlanta includes the cities, towns and communities in Middle and North Georgia, reaching from south of Macon to the Alabama line and north and east to the borders of Tennessee and South Carolina. We are the eighth largest diocese in The Episcopal Church, which was founded in 1789.

There are 116 welcoming and worshiping communities in this diocese. Find one at: https://www.episcopalatlanta.org/ChurchDirectory/