A week ago, a multinational conference of United Methodist Church leaders voted to toughen the church’s stance on sexuality, banning gay clergy and same-sex marriage. The conference was intended to bring a resolution to the church whose position on sexuality had become increasingly ambiguous. Previously, local churches and jurisdictions have cut their own path on whether to advocate for gay rights.

However, the decision added fuel to an already controversial topic. LGBTQ church members and advocates felt the church was denying them basic rights. More conservative church members felt their church was returning to being a pure organization.

On this week’s episode of Frederick Uncut, the Rev. Dr. Eliezer Valentín-Castañón, senior pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church, talks about being caught in the middle of the debate. As he told his congregation on Sunday, clergy or churches that do not follow the agreed-upon stance on sexuality will be removed. He would be one of them.

Later in the episode, producer Heather Mongilio speaks with two board members of The Frederick Center who discuss how the recent church decision on banning LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage affected their membership.