The Methodist Church in the United Kingdom announced on Wednesday that it will soon be celebrating same-sex marriages.

Gathered at a major national conference, 29 of the country's 30 synods adopted this resolution by 254 votes to 46.

“The Church cannot turn a blind eye to what is going on in society,” said Rev. Jonathan Hustler, acknowledging the “depth of feeling, pain and anxiety that exists” in same-sex couples.

With 164,000 members, the Methodist Church joins the Scottish Episcopal Church and the United Reformed Church, which already allow marriage for all.

British Methodist Church to Allow Same-Sex Marriage


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"Some of us have prayed for decades that this day will come"

Gay and lesbian unions remain prohibited in the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, of which Queen Elizabeth II is the head.

The Methodist Church's decision has been hailed by the Dignity & Worth group, which advocates for the LGBTQ + community within the Methodist Church, as an "important step on the road to justice and inclusion."

Dignity & Worth President Reverend Sam McBratney hailed a "courageous step" to "recognize and affirm the worth" of these couples.

“Some of us have prayed for decades for this day to come and find it hard to believe that it has now come,” he added.

Gay marriages will begin to be celebrated next September, time to settle administrative formalities.

Pastors opposed to this progress will not be forced to celebrate these unions.

Civil marriage for same-sex people has been allowed since 2013 in England and Wales, since 2014 in Scotland and only since 2020 in the very conservative Northern Ireland.

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