Puerto Rico branch severs
ties with United Church of Christ over inclusion of gays

The United Evangelical Church of Puerto Rico is severing its ties with the 1.3 million-member United Church of Christ, after the parent denomination endorsed same-sex marriage last year. The Puerto Rican congregations voted to leave the UCC by a 75-percent majority.

The Reverend John Thomas, president of the UCC, calls the Puerto Rican vote "profoundly disappointing" and says that differences between parts of the church have worsened in recent years, particularly regarding the "membership and ministry of gay lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians." The UCC reports that some 49 congregations in the U.S. have voted to leave the church since it came out in support of allowing gays and lesbians to marry. Dissenters from the UCC have put the number of renegade congregations at 77. (Sirius OutQ News)