A confidential complaint has been filed against 36 United Methodist Church clergy who blessed a gay wedding in defiance of the official rules of the Protestant denomination.

The complaint was recently filed against clergy belonging to the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference for a same-sex marriage they officiated last November.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson, head of the Conference, said in a statement given to The Christian Post by her office that the complaint will be processed according to the Book of Discipline. more >>

The United Reformed Church in the U.K. fell short of reaching a full consensus on changing its traditional definition of marriage to include same-sex couples during its General Assembly.

The Rev. John Proctor said that a "clear majority" of the 300 delegates were in favor of seeing URC become the U.K.'s biggest church that embraces same-sex marriages, but the church body needed a "full consensus," BBC News noted on Sunday.

"A clear majority of members of Assembly expressed the view that local congregations should be permitted to offer same-sex marriage to those who seek that opportunity," Proctor said of the debate. more >>

The largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States will no longer sell a controversial anti-Zionism publication on its website.

Presbyterian Church (USA) announced last Friday that it will immediately halt the online sale of "Zionism Unsettled", a publication produced by the Church's Israel-Palestine Mission Network.

A representative from PC (USA) told The Christian Post that the two members of their leadership who could comment were not available. Instead, CP was directed to an online statement from PC (USA)'s Presbyterian Mission Agency. more >>

Hispanic evangelical leader the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, who co-leads perhaps the largest evangelical network in the world as the result of the recent merger of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and Conela, a Latin America-based organization that serves more than 487,000 Latin churches globally, says the new association doesn't accept the premise that Christianity is spiraling downward.

"We are not drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid that Christianity is in decline, that this is the last hour of the Christian global narrative in a significant matter," Rodriguez told The Christian Post recently in an exclusive interview about the merger that took place on May 1. "We are not drinking the Kool-Aid. As a matter of fact, we have a very strong sense of optimism … we do believe the best is yet to come."

NHCLC/Conela, which is the new name of the group merge, has more than 500,000 churches and "may very well be the largest evangelical network in the world," said Rodriguez, who said he has tapped into current studies by researchers to come to his conclusions. more >>

A United Methodist Church pastor defrocked for officiating his son's same-sex marriage had his clergy credentials reinstated by a church court on appeal.

Frank Schaefer, a Pennsylvania pastor defrocked last December, was reinstated Tuesday courtesy a decision from the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals.

In a statement following the decision, Schaefer called the appeals committee's decision "a hopeful sign for our LGBTQ community." more >>

A conservative group within Presbyterian Church (USA) has stated its members "grieve" the General Assembly's vote that allows pastors to perform same-sex marriages.

The Fellowship of Presbyterians sent out a "pastoral letter" Friday in response to the 221st PC (USA) General Assembly voting to allow pastors to perform gay marriage in states where it is legally recognized.

The letter also despaired at the vote to allow the presbyteries to enter consideration for changing the official definition of marriage for the denomination from "a man and a woman" to "two people, traditionally a man and a woman." more >>