The United Methodist Church gathered in St. Louis on Tuesday and voted to continue its ban on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy.
The vote was close, with 53 percent of the congregation voting in favor of the Traditionalist Plan, which bans lesbian, gay and bisexual clergy and opposes same-sex marriage.
Kandace Brooks is the senior pastor at Saint Paul’s Methodist Church in Tallahassee. She says the ruling was a blow to the community at Saint Paul’s.
“Personally, I am very disappointed and heartbroken over the decision," Brooks said. "I am one personally who believes that the members of the LGBTQ community are not only people of sacred worth but should receive all the rights and privileges of membership of the church, and that includes marriage and ordination."
Brooks said Saint Paul’s church will continue to welcome its LGBTQ members. The United Methodist Church has over six million members in the U.S.
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