Church court: Conferences can’t exit unilaterally
By Heather Hahn
May 10, 2022 | UM News
Key Points:
- The Judicial Council, The United Methodist Church’s top court, ruled that current church law doesn’t allow U.S. annual conferences to leave the denomination.
- The church court said that annual conferences have a right to vote on disaffiliation, but only General Conference can set the process for doing so.
- The ruling answers questions from the United Methodist bishops, who are dealing with the ramifications of a splintering in the denomination.
U.S. annual conferences have no authority under current church law to withdraw from The United Methodist Church, the denomination’s top court ruled.
“There is no basis in Church law for any annual conference to adopt stopgap policies, pass resolutions, take a vote, or act unilaterally for the purpose of removing itself from The United Methodist Church,” the Judicial Council ruled in Decision 1444.
The church court said only General Conference — the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly — can set the process and conditions for these regional church bodies to leave the United Methodist connection.
But as of now, General Conference has not established such a process for annual conferences within the U.S.
“Absent General Conference legislation, any vote and actions taken by an annual conference to separate are unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal force or effect,” the Judicial Council said....
The "Book of Discipline Paragraph 572... only applies to conferences outside the United States." Read the whole story.