(The Hill) — Delegates within the United Methodist Church voted to repeal their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy Wednesday, showing overwhelming support that contrasts with decades of controversy over the issue.

The church voted 692-51 at their General Conference to remove a rule that bans “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as a minister, The Associated Press reported.

In the past, elders within the United Methodist Church have reinforced the LGBTQ ban during their annual conference, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the group has moved in a more progressive direction after a group of more conservative members left the denomination.

The change doesn’t mandate or explicitly affirm LGBTQ clergy members but means the church no longer forbids them from serving churches across the country. After the vote, applause broke out and members from advocacy groups embraced, per the AP.

The vote is just one step the delegates are taking toward removing LGBTQ bans. Later this week, they will vote on more petitions that could remove the denomination’s longtime stance that “the practice of homosexuality” is “incompatible with Christian” beliefs.

“With the approvals and acceptance of the things today by the General Conference, we’re beginning to see the unwinding, unraveling, dismantling of the heterosexism, the homophobia, the hurt and the harm of The United Methodist Church,” the Rev. David Meredith said, according to reporting from United Methodist News.

Meredith is a gay, married, and retired elder in the West Ohio Conference part of the advocacy group Reconciling Ministries Network, which tries to advance LGTBQ inclusion in the church.

Delegates voted Tuesday to remove mandatory penalties for conducting same-sex marriages and remove bans on considering LGBTQ candidates in the network of churches. The votes are historic for the delegation that has been debating LGTBQ rights for more than half a century, the AP reported.

While the changes are historic and celebrated by many current members, the AP noted that nearly 8,000 conservative congregations across the country disaffiliated with the church from 2019 to 2023 after the denomination did not enforce its bans around LGBTQ communities.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.