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Lesbian Elected United Methodist Church's First Out Bishop Despite Ban On Gay Clergy

"I think at this moment I have a glimpse of the realm of God."

Rev. Karen Oliveto, senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, was selected as the new bishop of the church's Western Division at a conference held in Scottsdale, Arizona this past Friday night.

The decision was reached at a tenuous time for the church as it stands divided on the issue of LGBT inclusion, with many regarding Oliveto's election as a progressive step toward ending the UMC's ban on “self-avowed practicing homosexuals" from serving in leadership positions.

"I think at this moment I have a glimpse of the realm of God," 58-year-old Oliveto said after her election. "Today we took a step closer to embody beloved community and while we may be moving there, we are not there yet. We are moving on to perfection."

Matthew Berryman, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, spoke to this perfection in a statement released on his website:

A 40 year movement to end codified discrimination against LGBTQ persons is reaching a tipping point that hardly any rational-minded observer can deny. Since LGBTQ people have long been denied access to public spaces, homes, and churches, today’s news represents the breaking down of a long-standing barrier that has prevented queer people access to the fullness of Christian vocation on the grounds that they are ‘incompatible with Christian teaching.’

Oliveto was one of three openly gay pastors to be nominated for bishop, a move equality activists within the church made to challenge the UMC's anti-LGBT stance.

Her election acts as the culmination of years of tireless advocacy by the church's LGBT community, which in the past has seen a group of over 100 clergy members come out en masse and pastors marrying same-sex couples in spite of church doctrine that forbids it.

In addition to the selection of Oliveto as bishop, delegates at the conference elected to create a commission to make a final decision on the church's position on homosexuality.

Experts believe this process will take at least a year, which means that Oliveto, as well as other out members of the clergy, will be stuck in limbo in regards to their capacity to serve as leaders in the church.

h/t: Think Progress

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