leave the church.

The other pledges to remain and fight for their views.

Pastor Jody Flowers of Chapin UMC wrote, “Embracing the Word of God as our ‘true rule and guide for faith and practice’ does not make us legalists or fundamentalists or uninformed bigots. We are simply, by the mercy and grace of God, attempting to follow Jesus as loving, faithful United Methodist Christians.”

As The Book of Discipline states, “all people are of sacred worth, but the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

Those with a differing view predict a schism and a creation of a new, more liberally-minded denomination.

Layman Cody McMahan wrote, “Prepare to see whole ministries of the UMC shuttered. The UMC will become a fundamentalist denomination.”

Umnews.org stated that around 200 African UMC delegates supported the Traditional Plan.

This keeps a ban on homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage.

Dr. Jerry Kulah, Dean of Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia wrote, “Friends, please hear me, we Africans are not afraid of our sisters and brothers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gendered (sic), questioning, or queer. We love them and we hope the best for them. But we know of no compelling arguments for forsaking our church’s understanding of Scripture and the teachings of the church universal.”

SC Bishop Holstein said, “At times like this, it seems there is so much that divides us, we need to remember that we are God’s people and that we have a future with hope.”

Cathy Jamison, the Columbia District Superintendent echoed his sentiments: “Theological diversity can make it difficult to have uniformity in challenging issues related to human sexuality. Despite our differences, we will continue to work and worship together in South Carolina.”