United Methodist Church (UMC) members are holding a protest at its Harare office against gays following its new stance on same-sex marriages.
Methodist Members Protest Against Gays In Harare
The members are at the UMC head offices in Milton Park, Harare. They are also presenting a petition to the church’s national leadership.
Earlier this week, the protest organisers applied for police clearance to host the demonstration. They wanted to “hold a peaceful gathering and make a Press Statement with placards denouncing homosexuality and the departure of the church from the scriptures and doctrine in pursuit of self-interests.”
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) granted them the clearance on 28 May 2024.
United Methodist Church Lifted Ban On Gays And Approved Same-Sex Marriages
UMC protesters are assembled at the church’s head office, holding placards that speak against gays. Some of their placards are written, “We cannot regionalise sin”, “Homosexuality is a threat to our culture”, and “We refuse same-sex marriages in the UMC.”
Last month, the United Methodist Church (UMC) General Conference meeting in North Carolina, United States, held from April 23 to May 3, 2024) removed from the Book of Discipline all language that restricts or singles out non-heterosexual people for disparate treatment.
The UMC also removed all bans on gay pastors. Those who were excommunicated for being gay can now apply to be readmitted as pastors.
United Methodist clergy are now permitted to officiate same-sex marriage or union ceremonies where they are legally recognised, but they also have the freedom to choose not to officiate these ceremonies.
Opposition To The Church’s New Stance On Same-Sex Marriages
These new measures have sparked protests across Africa.
Just after the decision was made, a Liberian UMC Reverend and other African delegates protested outside the conference’s venue against the new stance on gays.
The pastor-in-charge at Nyadire Mission Centre in Motoko, who voted against the decision at the UMC General Conference in the US, was clear:
“Indeed, the Church has decided to change the historic teaching of the Church of over 2000 years that homosexuality is a sin and the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman to between two consenting adults. This is, for us, a betrayal of The Gospel of Jesus Christ in favour of Western secular culture. The United Methodist Church is a Connectional Church, meaning one Church found in four Continents.”
We were excited when Obama was elected as first black president of the US. We thought he was going advance the cause for black people in America and Africa as a continent. Little did we know the Democrats had a totally different agenda. See what he delivered instead. LGBTQ. Even the recent Kamarla Harris trip to Africa was all about LGBTQ . I now support Trump. He is is prosecuted for having sex wot a woman in the current harsh money trial. America is sick.