By Emmanuel Awari-Jalingo
The United Methodist Church, Nigeria Episcopal Area, has categorically rejected the resolution of its General Assembly allowing same-sex marriage. Bishop John Wilsley, speaking after a Joint Special Call Session in Jalingo, Taraba State, stated, “As a leader of the church in Nigeria, I want to tell you that we reject the resolution of the general Assembly on homosexuality and we stand against it.”
Bishop Wilsley emphasised that same-sex marriage is not biblical, saying, “I want to call on all members of the United Methodist Church, Nigeria Episcopal Area and the general public to stand by biblical truth and standard that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
He also criticised a faction of the church that had deserted the church for over three years, alleging they were deceiving people by claiming the incompatible language had not been removed from the book of discipline. “The resolution on incompatible language has been passed for decades. It was resolved that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings. This is where we stand.”
Delegates from the Southern, Northern, Central, and Northeast Annual Conferences unanimously voted to leave UMC and join the Global Methodist Church due to the legalization of same-sex marriage. Bishop Johnwesley Yohanna affirmed the decision, saying, “No part of the Bible allows a man to marry a man or a woman to marry a woman. As a Bishop of the United Methodist church in Nigeria, I cannot approve homosexuality. Homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. It is against the will of God.”
Conference leaders expressed their stance, saying, “We say NO to Homosexuality. We will not continue to fight each other, but keep on serving God. We will no longer fight our brothers, but will follow the standard of the Bible.”