May 7th 2004 - the last day of the quadrennial General Conference of the United Methodist Church was filled with stong emotions and calls for unity. Just one day prior, an informal proposal to 'amicably separate' the 10 million member denomination was introduced to the delegates. However, on May 7th, the delegates voted 869-41 to remain “in covenant with one another even in the midst of disagreement.”

Picture 1 - Delegates to the United Methodist Church's 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh hold hands prior to a vote affirming unity in the church. The resolution on unity followed several days of contentious debate on the issue of homosexuality. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

Picture 2 - Rev. William Hinson (right), president of the Confessing Movement, a network of conservative United Methodists, and Rev. Bruce Robbins, former staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, present a resolution on church unity to the denomination's 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh. The resolution followed several days of contentious debate on the issue of homosexuality in the church. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

Picture 3 - Delegates Burnham A. Robinson (left) and Rev. Judith A. Sands, both from Central Texas, embrace following a vote of the 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh affirming unity in the United Methodist Church. The overwhelming approval of the resolution on unity followed several days of contentious debate on the issues in the church related to homosexuality. A UMNS photo by John C. Goodwin.



Pauline J. Chang
Ecumenical Press