Declares That “The UMC Is Not A Gay Church”

PHOTO: Bishop Samuel Quire addressing a news conference on Friday

By Alfred Kollie, alfredkolliejr92@gmail.com

Monrovia- The United Methodist Church in Liberia has finally spoken out on the controversial decision reached recently by the United Methodist conference in United Sates to embrace the homosexual/gay practice in the church by LGBTQ people, with Bishop Samuel J. Quire telling a news conference in Monrovia on Friday, June 7, 2024 that his church rejects the move,

At the meeting in the US early this month,  United Methodist General Conference, the church’s global legislative body, voted to overturn every ban on LGBTQ people. The historic changes include a new definition of marriage as a lifelong covenant between “two people of faith,” rather than solely between a man and a woman, and a repeal of its ban on LGBTQ clergy, although Reverend Jerry Kulah, a delegate from Liberia, was quoted as saying,, “We do not believe we know better than the Bible.”

The Conference also gave a new definition of marriage that it is a lifelong covenant between “two people of faith”, meaning between male and male, female and female or the opposite sex. Creeping Signs Some Liberia United Methodist Church Members Want Public Stance On Decision Embracing Homosexuality – News Public Trust

Recently, a banner surfaced calling for Liberian Methodist to assembly and demand a position on t LGBTQ position taken by the conference in the US and Bishop Quire’s press conference on Friday, after experience a long delay due to what was seen as protest by some people believed to be Methodist Church members outside the S.T. Nagbe UMC in Monrovia’s Sinkor suburb where the news conference was held.

Few days ago, inscription on the banner, which was swiftly deleted from one of the Methodist members chatrooms, read: “Special session or no session,” says the banner which was later removed from the chatroom, adding—“no to Biblical contradictions”.

But in his first reaction to the US United Methodist Conference decision, Bishop Quire said the United Methodist Church contrary to information that the church has not agreed to practice same-sex marriage. watch video

https://web.facebook.com/newspublictrust/videos/259369890572093

“Whether regionalization is ratified or not, the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will not conduct any weddings or ordinations of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals. Today, I am making this statement to set the record straight about what happened at the general conference, what it means for our denomination, the worldwide United Methodist Church, and how the United Methodist Church in Liberia will be operated going forward. You have heard a lot of messages being shared on social media about human sexuality and the United Methodist Church in Liberia. Some of these messages are misleading and very derogatory. As a matter of fact, there was a group of young people who came out with placards carrying some of these demeaning messages,”. Bishop Quire told Journalists.

The Bishop of the UMC Liberia Annual Conference said the church is a strong Church of God administering to sinners who are in need of the saving knowledge and grace of God.

Bishop Quire then asserted: “To all United Methodists in Liberia and our Liberian Public, the United Methodist Church is not a gay Church.”

Caution to Methodist clerics

The head of the United Methodist Church in Liberia however, strongly cautioned all clergy members of the church as well as lay persons of Liberia Annual Conference of the Church to refrain from undermining the ministry of the United Methodist Church in Liberia.

“The 2024 General Conference of the United Methodist Worldwide met and made its decision, the removal of restrictions on marriage and ordination for self-avowed, practicing homosexuals means that those conferences that wish to marry and or ordain self-avowed practicing homosexuals can do so. It also means that those of us in Africa and especially for us in Liberia are free not to allow such marriages and or ordinations for self-avowed practicing homosexuals. In fact, the 2024 general conference also approved allowing every pastor of the United Methodist Church to be free not to perform a homosexual marriage if the Pastor so chooses”

According to Bishop Quire, undermining the ministry of the church of other clergy is a chargeable offense that will be enforced for the sake of maintaining the order of the Church.

“Whether regionalization is ratified or not, the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will not conduct any weddings or ordinations of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals” Bishop Quire explained.

During the press conference narrated, the Methodist Bishop explained that the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church is traditional in its interpretation of the Holy Spirit and will continue its evangelistic outreach to all persons who live in darkness and do not know the redemptive grace of GOD.

He said the Church will continue to extend scriptural holiness to all persons by the amazing grace of God and will abide by the beckoning summons of Jesus Christ “when he says come unto me all you who are labor and are heavily laden and I will give you rest”.

“I have met with my cabinet this morning and we have pondered these decisions and will continue to discuss them adequately so as to enable us to disseminate same to our various districts and circuits. We will roll out the plan of regionalization in the days, weeks, and months leading to our 192 annual session in February in Ganta City, Nimba County in 2024. we will also have conversations with the executive committee of the Liberia Episcopal Area to share with them the decision of the 2024 general conference as I have shared with you today,” Bishop Quire explained.

In 1968, the Methodist Episcopal Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, the United States of America.

Four years later at the first United Methodist General Conference, a proposal to prohibit homosexual marriage and ordination was approved and placed in the Book of Discipline.

Since 1972 General Conference of the United Methodists has debated this restriction with increasing intensity, at the same time, Churches in Africa have held to the convention that they do not support homosexual marriage and ordination.

In 2016, the General Conference authorized and the Council of bishops appointed a commission on the way forward with a mandate to bring a plan to a special general conference in 2019 to determine how the World United Methodist Church should move forward and focus on the primary mission of the church which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the World.

Bishop Quire closed his statement to the press by saying: “Our mission is to make disciples of all nations baptize them in the name of Father, the Son and the holy spirit, and to teach them to obey all that God has commanded us. “