FILE - David Meredith, middle, hugs fellow observers after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. When the United Methodist Church removed anti-LGBTQ language from its official rules in recent days, it marked the end of a half-century of debates over LGBTQ inclusion in mainline Protestant denominations. The moves sparked joy from progressive delegates, but the UMC faces many of the same challenges as Lutheran, Presbyterian and Episcopal denominations that took similar routes, from schisms to friction with international churches to the long-term aging and shrinking of their memberships. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
FILE - The Rev. David Meredith, left, and the Rev. Austin Adkinson sing during a gathering of those in the LGBTQ community and their allies outside the Charlotte Convention Center, in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, May 2, 2024. When the United Methodist Church removed anti-LGBTQ language from its official rules in recent days, it marked the end of a half-century of debates over LGBTQ inclusion in mainline Protestant denominations. The moves sparked joy from progressive delegates, but the UMC faces many of the same challenges as Lutheran, Presbyterian and Episcopal denominations that took similar routes, from schisms to friction with international churches to the long-term aging and shrinking of their memberships. (AP Photo/Peter Smith, File)