Leaders of the United Methodist Church expressed regret over last week's decision by the branch in Côte d’Ivoire to leave the union following the church's decision to repeal a long-standing ban on LGBTQ+ clergy but pledged to accept it.
The developments were the latest in a series of ripple effects in conservative Africa, which is home to the vast majority of United Methodists outside the United States, amid disputes on sexuality and theology that have shaken the Methodist churches.
