Ah, but there's the rub! Even though your local Methodist church may not support the expressions in post 26, I would assume if your church is United Methodist, then a portion of your local church's tithes and other offerings go to the conference and the larger United Methodist Church. By extension, your local dollars are financing the views expressed in Arkinsaw's post.
On the other hand, you will probably not find a denomination whose public proclamations you agree with completely, so if the United Methodists are most closely aligned to your faith and worldview, then perhaps that where you should be.
I am concerned when an article is not specific, that is an implication can be made, or generalized, to the extent that conclusions made are not based on fact.
Thus, when I read this article, I was not sure if it was a hoax, designed to cast an unflattering light on Methodists; a UK, USA or just a specific group of people in one Church in one town.
To illustrate: "My first thought first was that it was a group from Berkely, California." There, I just generalized, and shed a dim light on the many good folks in Berkely.