Separation Outlook: It's All in the Details

The Wesleyan Covenant Association isn’t wasting any time getting itself ready to become a new denomination. Judging from its latest newsletter, WCA folks seem pretty convinced that a schism in The United Methodist Church is a foregone conclusion.

The WCA is nothing if not organized. Its latest newsletter said the group is organizing "task forces" around accountable discipleship, church multiplication, church revitalization, global missional partnerships, "missional ministry in the margins," and "ministry with young people and young adults." The task forces will meet by video conference and "will be led by individuals with considerable expertise in the subject of each task force,” according to the newsletter. Interested clergy and laity are invited to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to apply.

Western Jurisdiction summit detailed

The Western Jurisdiction’s website has an excellent series of reports on the activities of its recent “Fresh United Methodism Summit." The collection includes daily activities reports, an article on the theological statement from the Western Mission Council endorsed by the 200 summit participants and a report on the Western bishops’ “Safe Harbor” declaration. Find the list of articles here.

Nordic-Baltic Area Roundtable offers first report

Unlike the widely reported Western Jurisdiction summit, the Nordic-Baltic Episcopal Area has drawn little fanfare for the first meeting of its Round Table. Nonetheless, a recently posted report offers a different perspective from any of the U.S. conclaves.

The principles of its working covenant present a more cooperative approach than the win-lose methods of Robert’s Rules of Order used by U. S. conferences. In particular we note the following description from its first “community building” session:

“We had intensive conversation about the question: Is your understanding of human sexuality an essential question to you? Why or why not?

“To some of us, our understanding of human sexuality is essential, as it is directly connected to our understanding of creation.

“To some of us, human sexuality is not an essential question that we must agree on in order to be in the same church.

“To some of us, human sexuality is an essential concern as the love for all people is considered the basic teaching of the Bible and Christian faith, and therefore any exclusion of people due to their sexual orientation would be wrong.

“To some of us, this is essential, as we believe that the biblical witness says that homosexual practice is a sin.

“To some of us, mission is the driving purpose in the New Testament and in the church, and therefore prohibitions against same sex marriage and the ordination of practicing homosexuals [are] wrong as [they] prevent us from pursuing God’s mission.

“While we all have great affection for the United Methodist Church and hold our Wesleyan theological heritage in high esteem, and while we value our connection and the good relations in the episcopal area, we are painfully aware that our diverse understandings affect our relationship.“We will continue to wrestle with this in our coming meetings.”

The Nordic-Baltic Area includes Denmark Annual Conference, Estonia Annual Conference, Norway Annual Conference, and two provisional conferences, Finland-Swedish and Finland-Finnish. Bishop Christian Alsted, outgoing chair of the Connectional Table, leads the region.

Oklahoma UMC adopts “Holy Resistance” goal

Members of Mosaic UMC in Oklahoma City adopted a statement (PDF) Nov. 17 in which they designate 2020 as a year of “Holy Resistance." Among their goals, they refuse to comply with heightened restrictions against LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex weddings, offering to support pastors willing to perform ceremonies and offering use of its sanctuary for same-sex weddings.

The congregation also pledges to work toward removing all “harmful” restrictions against LGBTQ+ persons in the Book of Discipline. “If no positive changes are voted in at the 2020 General Conference, we will exit The United Methodist Church,” the document states.

Northern Illinois resumes General Fund apportionment

At a recent special session of the Northern Illinois Annual Conference, the Conference Council on Finance and Administration announced it would resume funding the General Administration Fund, beginning Jan. 1, 2020. According to a report by conference communicator Anne Marie Gerhardt: “The Annual Conference in June approved CCFA's legislation to suspend payments to the General Administration Fund, one of seven apportioned funds of The United Methodist Church that finance general church activities such as General Conference (GC), in light of an investigation into improper voting at the February GC Special Session. Since the investigation has been completed and action steps are being taken, CCFA believes the funding should be reinstated.”

In her episcopal address, Northern Illinois Bishop Sally Dyck joined the ranks of American bishops who are refusing to act on complaints against clergy under the new restrictions that go into effect Jan. 1, 2020. "As I have said before, the Traditional Plan is untenable for many of us and specifically for this annual conference," Bishop Dyck was quoted. "... Let me be clear, I will not facilitate or move on toward trial complaints against LGBTQIA+ clergy or clergy who perform same-gender weddings." Read the bishop's full statement.