Sandy Long

Sandy Long is about as Methodist as they come.

Long's father is a retired Methodist minister, and when she was just 6, her family served a two-year mission for the church.

Both sets of Long's grandparents were Methodist.And her great-grandfather was a Methodist evangelist who led revivals on Sundays.

Long, a 44-year-old out lesbian, is a member of Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, a "reconciling" congregation that's 30-40 percent gay and lesbian.

But Long said she's decided to leave the denomination in the wake of last week's General Conference in Fort Worth.

During General Conference, the UMC lawmaking session held once every four years, delegates voted to strengthen anti-gay language in the UMC's governing document, the Book of Discipline.They also voted not to overturn a decision by the church's Judicial Council granting pastors the authority to deny people membership based on their sexual orientation.

Both votes went against majority reports from legislative committees at the conference, and it marked a major setback for LGBT Methodists and their supporters.

After years of fighting, Long said she's finally given up hope that the only church she's ever known can change.

"Leaving the Methodist church is a hard thing for me; it's like leaving the family, leaving a family that doesn't really want you," Long said.