While the majority of U.S. Methodists are supportive of the LGBTQ community, about 20% of congregations have left the church over the issue in recent years.
That includes 96 churches in Kansas.
The split comes after years of contention in the United Methodist Church over the role of LGBTQ people in the church, including whether to allow gay clergy and whether ministers should officiate same-sex weddings.
Jae Moyer, an LGBTQ+ activist and member of Indian Heights UMC in Overland Park, told KCUR’s Up To Date they think the church is caught up in the culture wars.
“It feels like there are people who are turning religion into this one topic, that this is what being a United Methodist is, that this is what being a Christian has become,” Moyer said.
- Jae Moyer, LGBTQ+ activist and member of Indian Heights United Methodist Church
- Carolyn Hollstein, member of Indian Heights United Methodist Church
- Lee Johnson, former pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church
