Queer African Methodist Episcopal Pastor Fights For Denomination To Change Stance Against Same-Sex Marriage

December 13, 2024
‘I feel the undeniable urgency of the children who are feeling like the only way through this is death or out of the church,’ Rev. Jennifer S. Leath said
After the African Methodist Episcopal Church decided to keep its ban of LGBTQ+ marriage, one queer pastor is fighting back for those like her, the Associated Press reports.
Same-sex marriage in the world’s largest independent Black Protestant denomination has been banned despite three years of research conducted by the Sexual Ethics Discernment Committee as a resolution to help the church move forward.
The decision left Rev. Jennifer S. Leath, who identifies as “quare”—defined to describe her same-sex attraction and intellectual heritage as a “blackqueer womanist” thinker—feeling “disappointed and frustrated” but not enough for her to leave her denomination. 
Instead, she pushes the narrative that the church’s stance heightens the reasoning behind the alienation of LBGTQ+ members of the church. “LGBTQ+ people in the church suffer in relative silence while those who have left are forced to find or even create new spiritual communities,” Leath said.
Participation in same-sex marriages or unions was deemed punishable by official AME church law in 2004 as a response to Rev. V. Gene Robinson being elected as its first openly gay bishop in 2003. Since then, same-sex marriage has become equal in the eyes of the law, pushing Leath to stand her ground for the youth coming up. 
Within the church, research shows a number of older clergy, lay leaders, and academics consider LGBTQ+ sexual relations sinful and believe that God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman. As society proves the younger generations accept sexual diversity more, Leath feels the church should accept and celebrate that all are created in the image of God and most importantly feel safe within the house of God.
“I feel the undeniable urgency of the children who are feeling like the only way through this is death or out of the church,” Leath said. “As a pastor who follows the way of Jesus, that weighs on me.”
During AME Church’s 52nd Quadrennial Session of the General Conference in August 2024 in Ohio, delegates voted 896 to 722 in favor of deleting an amendment that would allow same-sex marriage, according to Christian Post. In a statement, bishops questioned if a committee would make changes to church teaching on LGBTQ+ issues.
“Rational arguments on the matter of sexuality, sexual orientation, same sex marriage, the structure of the family, and the meaning of male and female will not resolve the controversy because the issues have deep theological and psychological roots,” the bishops wrote. 
Decisions handed down by outside denominations have given Leath hope that things may turn around her AME.
“To me the AME church is a place where diverse perspectives on issues like these can co-exist while we faithfully pursue justice for all,” she said. “But this is only viable and sustainable as long as we are collectively and individually committed to recognizing the least among us, and recalibrating our faith and practices accordingly.”
In early 2024, the United Methodist Church (UMC) made headlines after an overwhelming vote resulted in the removal of a longstanding ban of clergy performing same-sex wedding ceremonies after close to 7,500, mostly conservative congregations, left the church. More churches within the denomination led efforts of disaffiliation since the change was made.
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