Articles about developments of alternatives for the future of The United Methodist Church: discussions of options, other expressions of the Methodist or Wesleyan Way, new alignments, petitions and resolutions approved in annual conferences, etc.
By Heather Hahn
May 21, 2019 | MINNEAPOLIS (UM News)
United Methodists are wrestling with what’s next in a multinational denomination still deeply divided over the role of LGBTQ Christians.
Some 350 U.S. United Methodists staked out their position during the May 17-18 gathering, launching a movement centered on voices they see as too often marginalized — namely people of color and queer and transgender individuals.
Organizers see the work started at the Our Movement Forward summit as both influencing The United Methodist Church from within and potentially leading to a completely new denomination.
Randall Miller, long-time leader in the UMC, has posted this announcement:
United Methodist Friends,
A small group of us have developed some principles to guide the conversations about what comes next for our Church.
We mean this statement of principles to serve as conversations starters between LGBTQ folks and those intending to stand with us as allies — as well as the minimal requirements for any path forward. Please read them and if you’re so inclined, sign them, and then push for them.
By Linda Bloom
April 15, 2019 | ATLANTA (UMNS
The pain over the deep divide that has occurred among United Methodists since February’s special General Conference has permeated all parts of the denomination, raising questions about the impact on its mission projects and goals.
That discussion by directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries came April 12, near the end of the shortened board meeting following a long-planned conference at Emory University celebrating 200 years of Methodist mission.
“We can say we are deeply divided and the conflict will not subside,” said New York Area Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton. The challenge to the board’s directors “is not to continue to hurt one another” and to fulfill their role as shepherds of the church’s mission “in the midst of the current realities,” he said.
These are some petitions to the 2019 Annual Conferences that I have been able to locate online (there are 54 U.S. annual conferences!). If you know of others of particular interest to the issue of inclusion of LGBTQIA persons and/or the upheaval in the UMC,
- Bishops Meet, Plan, and Ask Judicial Council For Ruling
- Journalist Cynthia Astle on Secret Meetings
- 'Does The UMC Have A Future?' Christy Thomas says No
- What's Next? Hamilton and Coyner
- Stith: GC 2019: Myths and Realities
- UMNS: Centrists, progressives to discuss church's future
- Options for the Future
- An Open Letter to Adam Hamilton
- What To Do About Apportionments?
- How did the U.S. get to LGBTQ acceptance?
- Diana Butler Bass on Methodism
- Five Reasons for a U.S. Church