Update, September, 2022: A United Methodist News review of U.S. annual conference reports, publicly available journals and the special sessions held so far shows that conferences have ratified about 680 church disaffiliations since 2019... More detail.
On this page:
- Disaffiliation News from Cynthia Astle
- Conferences diverge in handling exits
- Some Conference Disaffiliation Processes
- Judicial Council rulings
- Ask The UMC
- UMC.org important information about disaffiliation
- A Third Alternative: Foundry Network
Disaffiliation News, 9/22/22: Here is a comprehensive overview of disaffiliations from UM-Insight and editor Cynthia Astle.
Conferences diverge in handling church exits
By Heather Hahn July 15, 2022 | UM News
How much does it cost for a congregation to leave The United Methodist Church with property?
In the words of the real estate adage, the answer often comes down to “location, location, location.”
With General Conference — the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly — postponed to 2024, plans for a formal denomination-wide separation over theological differences are up in the air. That leaves disaffiliation decisions up to each of the 53 U.S. annual conferences — regional bodies consisting of multiple congregations. ...
The conferences are all relying on the same church law — the Book of Discipline’s Paragraph 2553 — that offers a pathway for churches to leave with property if they meet certain financial and procedural obligations. A rule of thumb is that the bigger the church, the higher its withdrawal costs.
However, the measure also allows for variation among conferences — especially on matters of expense.
A departing church could be on the hook for thousands to more than a million dollars depending on its size and its conference’s policies.
Even with these complications, an increasing number of congregations are heading for the exits.
So far this year, U.S. annual conferences have approved about 285 church disaffiliations under Paragraph 2553. That’s up from about 130 disaffiliations over the past two years.
Still, the three-year total represents only about a 1.4% reduction from the number of U.S. United Methodist congregations in 2019 — when the disaffiliation policy took effect. As of that year, the denomination had 30,543 congregations in the U.S.
The number of church exits will grow. More than a dozen annual conferences already have scheduled special sessions for later this year to take up resolutions for church disaffiliations. Read the entire article here.
A selection of Conference Disaffiliation Processes is on this page.
Judicial Council. Ruled in February on the disaffiliation process. See this page for some relevant rulings.
Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications, also has answered frequently asked questions about disaffiliations and the future of The United Methodist Church. Here's a list of questions they've addressed.
UMC.org: Read some important information about what congregations should know about disaffiliations.
Foundry Network offers third alternative to disaffected UMC churches
by Cynthia Astle, August 26, 2022 in Baptist News
A collaboration of former United Methodist large-membership churches has announced creation of an association to provide accountability and resources without the constraints of a denomination.
The Foundry Network will launch in September, according to an announcement posted on Facebook by Eric Huffman, pastor of The Story Church in Houston. His congregation already has disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church.
Establishment of the Foundry Network changes the binary nature of the United Methodist Church’s splintering, since it gives disaffiliating churches an alternative to joining the Global Methodist Church, the fledgling traditionalist denomination founded by the Wesleyan Covenant Association in May.
Huffman’s post described Foundry’s purpose: “The Foundry Network … seeks to forge a network of like-minded pastors and churches who are aligned theologically and work together to reawaken the movement for Jesus in our communities.” Read the complete story here.