Philly’s place in UMC’s proposed historic split over LGBT issues

Rev. Dr. Kipp Gilmore-Clough is an ordained Methodist pastor and Ph.D. He is Acting Senior Pastor at Chestnut Hill United Church. CHUC has been in the vanguard of acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ people, doing outreach to the queer community. Staff even note their pronouns on the church directory and website.

Gilmore-Clough, who identifies as a “cisgender, straight man,” has a more hopeful view than Thomas. He told PGN, “The proposed protocol for breaking the United Methodist Church into multiple Methodist denominations is acknowledgment of what has long been evident: that separation is the best way forward. It remains to be seen what this looks like once it has made its way through the General Conference process in May.”

He said, “My deepest hope is not only for a gracious separation but also that any agreement include mechanisms for repairing and healing some of the damage that has been done through generations of anti-queer policy and practice.”

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