United we stand.

That was the emotional message from United Methodist delegates yesterday as they resoundingly voted 869-41 to pass a resolution affirming that they remain one body and to quash rumors of a split.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette
	Richard Thomas from Jefferson Hills places notes on a cross in a prayer room at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church at the David Lawrence Convention Center yesterday. Visitors to the prayer room write down the names of people they want to forgive and then place them on the cross RELATED STORY Methodists approve budget

"I think it's important to send a clear message that we are unified," said the Rev. John Schol, of West Chester, Pa., who facilitated the group that drafted the unity resolution. "Delegates will not leave this place divided."

The resolution was a reaction to a statement put out Thursday morning that was crafted by conservatives. It called for a task force to study splitting the church. The statement, which never made it to the floor for legislative action, surprised many gathered at the United Methodists' 11-day conference in Downtown Pittsburgh. The conference ended last night.

The Rev. William Hinson, president of Confessing Movement for conservative Methodists, held a news conference on Thursday where he suggested that a split was the best option for a denomination that was deeply split over homosexuality.

Hinson was widely credited with drafting the statement that was circulated on Thursday, but he claimed he was not the author.

"I've never written a resolution, and if I did, it would look a lot better than the one that was circulated on the floor yesterday," he said.

In the statement's wake, a small but diverse group of church leaders gathered Thursday night to put an end to the "rumor and innuendo" of a schism by drafting a unity resolution.

It read: "As United Methodists we remain in covenant with one another, even in the midst of disagreement, and reaffirm our commitment to work together for our common mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the world."

Before the unity resolution was adopted, the delegates sang the hymn "Blest be the Ties that Bind" as they stood holding hands.

After the vote, many hugged and openly wept as presiding Bishop Joseph Sprague asked delegates to "share the peace to soothe our wounded hearts."

At yesterday's morning plenary session, Hinson stood with the Rev. Bruce Robbins, a former executive with the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, to clarify the events that called for the unity resolution.

Hinson told the delegates it was never his intention for the proposal to be public. The information came out of brainstorming sessions earlier in the week and from a breakfast meeting where Hinson mentioned the idea of an amicable split.

Hinson, a seventh-generation Methodist, later told reporters, "I do have deep sense of sadness over our church and its brokenness."

He also revealed he was "in amazement at the speed and combustibility of a speech made at an early morning breakfast by someone who is not even a delegate."

However, he said, referring to the decades-long divide over gays in the church: "I named the 800-pound gorilla in the living room. It's much easier to walk around the issue, but it is on the hearts and minds of a lot of United Methodist people."

Earlier in the week, the delegates for the 8.3-million member church reaffirmed the church's stance against homosexuality and banned ordination of openly gay people.

The Rev. Kathryn Johnson, head of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, said she found the suggestion of a split devastating.

"Theologically and politically, we differ greatly, but we all share a love for the church."

Methodists leaders contend a split is not imminent for the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination. And any separation would be a legally complicated matter concerning property and other issues.