After a heated 24 hours of protests, emotional testimony and group prayer, the United Methodist Church decided Wednesday to delay a series of contentious votes on gay equality and instead create a body that will examine possibly rewriting church rules on human sexuality and restructuring to allow regional differences.
Progressives saw the vote as a victory in a global denomination fast tilting more and more conservative as it grows in Africa and Asia and shrinks in the West. However the measure that was approved passed narrowly, 428-405, and was unspecific â?? saying its main goal was â??profound unity.â? It was a proposal by the denominationâ??s Council of Bishops, and came near the end of a major, once-every-four-years meeting called the General Conference, a meeting defined this year by tension over the deep divisions regarding human sexuality.
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