"Without the informed consent of church membership, the United Methodist lobby office is supporting legislation that would enshrine sexual orientation into law as the moral equivalent of gender and ethnicity." --Mark Tooley, Executive Director UMAction

Contact: Loralei Coyle, 202-682-4131, 202-905-6852 cell, lcoyle@ird-renew.org; Radio Interviews: Jeff Walton, jwalton@ird-renew.org; both with Institute on Religion and Democracy

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /Christian Newswire/ -- The official lobbying office of the 7.9 million-member United Methodist Church has co-signed a letter with several radical organizations in support of The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The legislation, supported by the United Methodist General Board on Church and Society (GBCS), places those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender into a special protected status.

Other co-signers of the letter include the National Center for Transgender Equality, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign.

The United Methodist Church officially does not ordain into the ministry practicing homosexuals or others who are sexually active outside of marriage. United Methodism affirms God's love and civil rights for all people, while also affirming marriage as the lifelong union of man and woman. It is a long tradition for GBCS's Washington, DC-based staff to disregard the church's official teaching on sexual ethics and routinely lobby at church conventions against the church's teachings.

IRD Director of UMAction Mark Tooley responded,

"Without the informed consent of church membership, the United Methodist lobby office is supporting legislation that would enshrine sexual orientation into law as the moral equivalent of gender and ethnicity.

"The United Methodist Book of Discipline declares that homosexual practice is incompatible with scripture, yet the GBCS continues to ignore denominational teachings that do not conform to their own very liberal perspective.

"By aligning itself with homosexual groups that want to impose their world view on America, the GBCS shows that it is guided more by the secular culture rather than the solid foundation of traditional church teaching.

"We confidently pray that some day the GBCS will actually represent The United Methodist Church and vigorously espouse traditional Christian teachings."

The Institute on Religion and Democracy, founded in 1981, is an ecumenical alliance of U.S. Christians working to reform their churches' social witness, in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad.