The United Methodist Church of Zimbabwe (UMC) has described its mother body’s decision to recognize homosexuality as a “betrayal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.
This comes after delegates to the UMC General Conference earlier this week, in the United States, voted overwhelmingly in favor of homosexual practices in the church, which has a global footprint.
By a vote of 523 to 161, after about an hour and a half of debate, General Conference delegates rescinded a 52-year-old affirmation in the denomination’s social principles that “the practice of homosexuality…is homosexual practice.” . . “It is contrary to Christian teachings.”
In the same vote, delegates affirmed that “Marriage is a sacred, lifelong covenant that brings two people of faith (an adult man and an adult woman of consenting age or two adults of consenting age) into union with each other and a deeper relationship with God and the religious community.”
Randall Miller, who chaired the Social Principles Task Force that led the development of the revisions approved last week, said this was a historic moment.
“It has been 40 years of work for me and others to remove the nonconformity clause from our social principles and truly live by our belief that all people are sacred,” said Miller, who is gay and has long advocated for the full inclusion of LGBT people. In the life of the church.
“Just so grateful and wonderful to have gotten to this moment.”
However, the Zimbabwean delegation, which was in the minority, said Western culture was eroding traditional church values and posing a danger to younger generations.
Speaking from the United States, one of the delegates, Reverend Forbes Matunga, said the resolution passed was a betrayal of all Africans and the church in general.
He said: “In fact, the Church decided to change the historical teaching of the Church for more than 2,000 years that homosexuality is a sin, and to define marriage between a man and a woman as between two consenting adults.”
“This, to us, is a betrayal of the gospel of Jesus Christ in favor of Western secular culture. The United Methodist Church is a connected church, that is, one church present on four continents.
“So what happens to one part of the body affects everyone. Our children are at risk of being identified and drawn into this pagan culture as they go to receive education in United Methodist universities and colleges in the USA,” Pastor Matunga said.
Moreover, he said, in the long run, most children will be indoctrinated into believing that this “sin” is a human right.
Aniso Kabanga, a worshiper, who was also arrested last year for demonstrating against homosexuality, said such policies have now exposed the church.
“It has now become clear that the legalization of homosexuality in the United Methodist Church was rapidly approaching and there was nothing that church members could do. We as a church cannot wait for the nation to denounce such evil acts. Rather, the church must be at the forefront of “You denounce it.”
The Bishop’s Administrative Assistant, Mr Allen Gurubira, responded to the congregation at his church saying Zimbabwe’s position on the issue of homosexuality remained clear and he absolutely abhorred the practice.
“With regard to the acceptance of homosexuality, everything that will be done at the General Conference is subject to ratification by the annual conferences, and Zimbabwe’s position on it is very clear,” he said.
The UMC’s decision also sparked controversy on social media platforms, with many condemning it as “unholy” and a “sin”.
The president of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Bishop Ignatius Makumbi, of the Anglican Church, said churches must align their policies with government laws.
He said: “There is a need for churches to adhere to the laws of the country, and as of now (the laws) of the country stipulate that marriage is only between a man and a woman.”
“The UMC in Zimbabwe and in Africa in general need to draw lessons from what the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches have done, by refusing to stand against the idea of God allowing homosexuality in their churches and defending their dignity as Africans.”
Bishop Makumbi said the ZCC would never condone homosexuality.
“The ZCC has agreed from its birth that we will not tolerate homosexuality in any form, because the Bible clearly states that it is a sin,” he said.
“We will follow up the issue with UMC management in Zimbabwe and see how we can help as an organisation.” Announce
