Jubilee for LGBTQIA+ Deacons
May 1 and 2 brought a windfall of legislative victories for multiple marginalized groups in The United Methodist Church. On May 1, the delegates of the General Conference voted to remove the prohibition of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” serving as clergy from the Book of Discipline (❡304.3).
On May 2, the General Board of Church and Society’s Revised Social Principles ❡161 and ❡162 passed on the plenary floor with one amendment. In ❡161 (and ❡304.3), the description of homosexuality as “incompatible with Christian teaching” was deleted, and the definition of marriage was changed. Whereas The United Methodist Church previously recognized marriage only between one man and one woman, the new language about marriage will read that the union is between “two people of faith, an adult man and woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age.” This is thanks to the years of work by the Revised Social Principles team and an amendment brought to the floor by delegate Molly Mwayera of Zimbabwe.
Also on May 2, a petition entitled “Granting Sacramental Authority to Deacons in Their Ministry Setting” (petition 20897) was adopted by the body of the Conference; it will take effect on January 1, 2025. At that time, provisional and ordained deacons will continue to assist elders in administering the sacraments and administer the sacraments in their own right, when contextually appropriate. They no longer need special permission from a bishop.
This week has been monumental for LGBTQIA+ United Methodists and United Methodist deacons. Queer deacons stand at the intersection of these identities and communities. The crafters of petition 20897, Rev. Dr. Leo Yates and Rev. Julie Wilson of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference are two such deacons.
Rev. Dr. Leo Yates, Jr., LCPC
Rev. Dr. Leo Yates, Jr., LCPC (he/him) is the pastor of Magothy United Methodist Church of the Deaf in Pasadena, Maryland—his education includes theology and counseling. When pursuing candidacy for ordained ministry, he struggled to reconcile his identity as a gay man with a church that rejected his sexuality. At the 2020 General Conference in 2024, Yates serves as a reserve clergy delegate and the American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter Coordinator. He says that as an interpreter, he was (and is) always “bridging [the deaf and hearing] communities, so being a deacon… came naturally.” When asked about the developments at the General Conference, Yates describes this year as one of jubilee!
Rev. Julie Wilson (she/they)
Rev. Julie Wilson (she/they) is a Church and Community Worker (missionary) with the General Board of Global Ministries, serving at the Open Arms Community in Winston-Salem, NC. Wilson is a bisexual gender non-conforming person. Though Wilson found a man who is the love of their life, they choose to come out in church settings. Early in her ministry, she was discouraged from disclosing her sexuality by senior pastors in the congregations she served. As Wilson increased her advocacy work with Reconciling Ministries Network, she no longer wanted to be known falsely as an ally but as “part of the community.” Wilson, who grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, says that the sacraments are incredibly important to them because they are “a way of touching God…physically being connected to the Body of Christ.” They reflect that deacons are the clergy who minister to people who do not enter local churches, and with sacramental authority, they can powerfully extend God’s grace.
Deacons are not oblivious to the loss their diaconal siblings experienced on May 2. On the same day deacons (a clergy order) were granted sacramental authority, deaconesses and home missioners (a lay order) were denied greater voting privileges in their annual conferences.
Look for future LYNC news for longer profiles on Revs. Wilson and Yates and other deacons in the LGBTQIA+ community.
(Highlight Photo: Rev. Gregory Gross (any pronouns, deacon, Northern Illinois Annual Conference) serves Communion alongside Rev. Dr. Becca Girrell (she/her, elder, New England) at First United Methodist Church, Charlotte on May 2. Photo by Hannah Adair Bonner of the Queer Delegate Caucus.)