Articles relating to the disaffiliation of local United Methodist Churches from the denomination because of conscience related to the full inclusion and participation of "homosexual" persons, including especially Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Christians in the UMC. You can find background on this here.
Bishop Carter's letter regarding the 31 churches in Western NC who want to leave the denomination without following Par. 2553.
By: Bishop Ken Carter
Dear Clergy and Laity of the Western North Carolina Conference:
Over the past week, we have become aware of 31 churches who, with the encouragement of the Wesleyan Covenant Association – Western North Carolina (WCA-WNC), have engaged with a Florida law firm and are demanding transfer into a new denomination. We are deeply grieved by this action, as we seek to be a church united and engaged in making disciples of Jesus. As you read a sample of the letters we have received as well as the response of our conference chancellor (below), here are some important thoughts to keep in mind:
This document was originally drafted by Rev. Lara Franklin, Executive Director of the CTC Roberts Center of Leadership, in consultation and collaboration with her colleagues on the Central Texas Cabinet (www.ctcumc.org/cabinet-of-the-ctcumc) Read the whole document on their web site.
After hearing from many of the laity across the Central Texas Conference who wish to #BeUMC, but their church is seeming to be guided toward disaffiliation by church leadership, the Central Texas Cabinet compiled the following ideas for how to advocate for your church to remain in The United Methodist Church. The following is also available for downloading, print and sharing by clicking here. If you church does vote to disaffiliate and you wish to remain in The United Methodist Church, please contact your District Superintendent who will be happy to assist you in finding a new home in The UMC. In the East District, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; in the North & West Districts, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; in the South and Central Districts, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
[And if you're in a different conference, please contact your own DS, or perhaps one you know is friendly to staying UMC. My conference, Mountain Sky, is led by a bishop and staff who are committed to staying UMC.]
[Par. 2553 for disaffiliation, not 2548.2.]
By Heather Hahn
Aug. 23, 2022 | UMNews
Key points:
- The United Methodist Church’s top court ruled that a much-debated church law can only be used for transferring property — not members — to another denomination.
- The Judicial Council also ruled that The United Methodist Church must have an existing agreement with the other denomination for such a transfer to occur.
- No such agreement exists with the Global Methodist Church, which has been pushing for churches to use the measure to leave The United Methodist Church.
- In a separate matter, the Judicial Council released a memorandum on the vote by the Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Annual Conference to move to the Global Methodist Church.
by Cynthia B. Astle, August 11, 2022 (reprinted with permission from UM-Insight.net)
A United Methodist Insight Column
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. – Isaiah 40:1 (NRSV*)
Let's face it: times in The United Methodist Church right now are just a couple of pinpricks short of miserable.
Thanks to disaffiliation votes in some congregations, more people are losing their longtime – sometimes lifetime – spiritual homes. Plus, there's so much misinformation floating around about the UMC and what its future will be that it's like trying to find your way through a thick fog. Anyone who's paying the least attention to the UMC saga right now has many days of wanting to scream, "How the heck do I cope with the latest outrage that's splintering our church?"
Read more: Some Ways to Cope When the UMC Division Turns Nasty
Mountain Sky Protocol for Disaffilation in 2022; votes to approve disaffiliation were taken in October, 2022, when 6 disaffiliations were approved.
Arkansas Conference Current Landscape
- Information Regarding Disaffiliation
- The Disaffiliation Process
- If a Church Conference Is Held to Vote on Disaffiliation
- If a Church Votes to Disaffiliate
Northwest Texas Conference
- NW Texas Conference has lost around 75% of its local churches through disaffiliation, in contrast to the national average around 7%. Steve Harper has a blog reflection about how this happened. Read "A Soil Prepared" from UM-Insight.
- Given the high percentage of local churches who have left the UMC, this Conference has much about these transition times:
Wespath, the church agency that handles pensions, has put together a video that answers questions such as whether clergy pension plans are fully funded and why a disaffiliating church is required to make a payment to the conference it is leaving.
Watch video or listen to interview as a podcast.
Read Wespath’s Frequently Asked Questions about disaffiliations.
- Disaffiliation information
- Church court clarifies disaffiliation rules
- Disaffiliation Debates
- New England Churches Study Disaffiliation
- Top court to look at church disaffiliation rules
- Responding to California-Nevada Allegations against Disaffiliation and Apportionments
- Cal-Nev Extended Cabinet Issues Disaffiliation Statement