IPNEWS: Amidst ongoing escalation of tension between members of the United Methodist church in Liberia for a couple of months, leading to some members breaking away from the United Methodist church due to alleged same-sex marriage promises, the Bishop of the united Methodist Church in Liberia, Bishop Samuel Jerome Quire, Jr. has strongly warned individuals describing the UMC as a gay church to desist or accept legal actions from his administration and the United Methodist church.
Giving his special statement today, February 13th,2025 at the 192nd session of the Liberia annual conference of the united Methodist church, Bishop Quire reaffirmed that the United Methodist church in Liberia will preside over only Marriage ceremonies between a male and a female, and nothing else.
Addressing the misperception in the public that the church has signed to the Same-Sex marriage policy, Bishop Quire said after the general conference held in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America which is the only denomination that speaks officially for the whole church, they are messages being shared on social media and secular media about human sexuality in the UMC, says those messages are misleading and derogatory.
He named three Major decisions from the General conference about which there are many discussions and Misinformation ranging from Homosexuality, disaffiliation and regionalization, citing that the general conference voted to remove language in the United Methodist Book of Discipline prohibiting marriage and ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals in the UMC effective upon the close of the general conference on May 3, 2024.
“The general conference voted to remove paragraph 2553, which has to do with disaffiliation (a paragraph created in 2019, after the special general conference session, to allow churches in the United States to leave the UMC), and thirdly, the general conference approved a plan of regionalization for the UMC which will take effect upon the ratification by the annual conferences of the united Methodist church”, He said.
Bishop Quire further stated that Liberia’s annual conference of the United Methodist church will not conduct any weddings or ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals, says the UMC in Liberia is traditional in its interpretation of the holy Scriptures.
He then announced the suspension of several pastors and others, including the suspension of the entire leadership of the conference adult fellowship until otherwise ordered in restoring order to the Church.
He called on those anti-Methodists to individually disaffiliate from the UMC, leaving all of its structures and properties with the UMC, saying it’s the right of a member to disassociate in accordance with the UMC Book of Discipline.
Meanwhile, Bishop Quire has announced a 60 % of tuition for students who have benefited for several years 100% tuition free scholarship to be paid by parents, says it will reduce the financial crises at the United Methodist Universities across Liberia.
The Conference is being hugely attended by dignitaries from parts of the world which started February 11th and will end on the 16th,2025 in Gbarnga, Bong County.
