ordination

Feminism, gay rights and the Vietnam War fueled additional discord, with more traditionalist congregants opposing the ordination of female priests and reacting furiously to mainline Protestant leaders who advocated from the pulpit.

“Because I am not nor cannot be in pastoral ministry at this time in my life, I do not think reinstating my ordination is appropriate.”

The 2003 ordination of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, ignited long-simmering controversies.

They said African churches will keep the marriage and ordination bans in their region while remaining in the denomination.

The United Methodist Church removed a longstanding ban on the ordination of practicing gay clergy on Wednesday morning, making official a shift from a policy that had already begun to fray in practice, prompting the departure of a quarter of its congregations in the United States in recent years.