From the NYT: "A group of leaders of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, announced on Friday a plan that would formally split the church, citing fundamental differences over same-sex marriage after years of division.

The plan would sunder a denomination with 13 million members globally, roughly half of them in the United States, and create at least one new 'traditionalist Methodist' denomination that would continue to ban same-sex marriage as well as the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy.

It seems likely that the majority of the denomination's churches in the United States would remain in the existing United Methodist Church, which would become a more liberal-leaning institution as conservative congregations worldwide depart." (To read the full article, Click Here.