At the end of last month, the United Methodist General Conference met in St. Louis and voted to strengthen its ban on same-sex marriages and LGBTQ clergy.

Methodists are the country's second-largest Protestant church, and they have a long history here in New England. But the conference's vote runs contrary to most Methodist churches in New England, which remain inclusive of LGBTQ parishioners.

Rev. Robert Hill, dean of the Marsh Chapel at Boston University, a professor of theology, and an elder in the United Methodist Church