Church conference votes to leave Idaho due to transphobic climate

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Church conference votes to leave Idaho due to transphobic climate

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/07/church-conference-votes-to-leave-idaho-due-to-transphobic-climate/ 🔗

Alex Bollinger (21 July 2026)

A Methodist conference that was scheduled to take place in Boise, Idaho, next year will have to find a new venue as its members voted to leave the state out of concerns for the safety of transgender and nonbinary participants

The United Methodist Church held its annual Oregon-Idaho Conference at the Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise from June 18 to 20, and it was supposed to return to the same church in 2027. But the state's transphobic climate has gotten so bad that a majority of the council (52-48) voted to change venues for next year.

The vote happened after a nonbinary reverend had to take their wife to an emergency room.

"During the conversation, members named serious concerns about safety, racism, anti-trans rhetoric and action, and the lived realities of people of color, immigrants, queer and trans siblings, and others who are targeted by hate, laws, policies, and public speech," he wrote. "A specific anti-trans incident that occurred in Boise during this annual conference was also reported. These concerns must be heard, received, and not minimized. All harm is harm."

"At the same time, members spoke with deep conviction about the need to remain present in Idaho and to support the people who live, serve, lead, and love here every day. We cannot allow a decision about where to hold an annual conference session to become a retreat from our witness in Idaho or a rejection of the people who are faithfully serving here."

[Lori Dee ✅]

members spoke with deep conviction about the need to remain present in Idaho and to support the people who live, serve, lead, and love here every day."

But those members also vote there and can take action to correct problem issues in their city and state. They have not done so. They also have not left.

"If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of your problem."

"Acquiesence is acceptance."