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.
WCA Conferences Withhold Global Apportionments
By Rev. Dr. Mark R. Holland, Executive Director, Mainstream UMC
(republished with Mark's permission)
We already know that the churches in the United States currently fund 99.4% of the $134 million annual budget for the global church, with only 56% (and declining) of the votes at General Conference to decide how it is spent. But the official 2018 report by the General Council for Finance and Administration (GCFA) tells us some troubling things we did not know.
During the 2019 annual conference sessions in the United States 41 out of 54 annual conferences elected a majority of delegates who reject the Traditional Plan. Remarkably, The GCFA report shows that these 41 centrist/progressive annual conferences contribute a whopping 78% ($104.2 million) of the total global annual budget. The 4 annual conferences that are 50/50 or unknown regarding the delegates contribute 5% ($6.3 million). There are only ten US annual conferences that elected delegations with a majority in favor of the Traditional Plan. These ten give 17% ($22.3 million) of the global annual budget. Clearly, the lion’s share of the resources come from those who reject the Traditional Plan. Click on the link below for the full color map of the giving.
But this is not the most alarming data in the report.
Bishop Oliveto rules on Petition MSC-10: "With sincere regret and shared pain, I am forced to rule that actions 1, 2, and 4 are contrary to the Book of Discipline and out of order. However, the remaining petition is in order and remains lawful." Read the decision.
Bishop Webb rules withholding funds from complaint processes is unconstitutional. Read his decision (PDF).
by Cynthia B. Astle
July 9, 2019
Echoes of actions against the Traditional Plan at 2019 annual conferences sessions continue to reverberate across U.S. United Methodism.
On July 9, two bishops released their rulings of law on annual conference actions related to the UMC's stances regarding LGBTQ+ persons.
Read how Bishop Easterling and Bishop Haller ruled on UM-Insight. More rulings are expected soon from other bishops in Annual Conference sessions held after Baltimore-Washington and Iowa -- such as Mountain sky and Bishop Oliveto. Bishops have 30 days to rule on questions of law raised during the session.
By Sam Hodges
July 10, 2019 | UM News
Two bishops propose turning The United Methodist Church into an umbrella organization for new, self-governing church groups that would offer different approaches on ordination of gay clergy and same-sex unions.
Michigan Conference Bishop David Bard and Texas Conference Bishop Scott Jones began collaborating on a plan after the rancorous 2019 General Conference and shared it with United Methodist News this week.
We both envision a future where the church will focus on its mission of making disciples and spend less time and energy debating issues of human sexuality, which means we need to bless different parts of The United Methodist Church to be about the mission in their own ways,” Jones said....
Bard and Jones’ plan comes as various groups of church leaders discuss options for the denomination, including schism. A Sept. 18 deadline looms for petitions to be submitted for the 2020 General Conference in Minneapolis. [Read more detail here at UMNS.]
Rev. Darren Cushman Wood has written a congregational study guide for this plan.
Indianapolis pastor Darren Cushman Wood, senior minister of North United Methodist Church, writes about the huge assets and the "tsuname" of lawsuits over them if and when the UMC splits up. Read more about his suggestion.
"Any scheme of separation or dissolution could include provisions for mandatory, binding arbitration procedures for determining the future of our assets. Church law can be created so that all disputes are settled out of court through denominational arbitral panels....we do not need to reinvent the wheel. The models are out there for creating a process for mandatory, binding arbitration in the transition to the creation of new denominations. We can avoid the time and expense of lawsuits if we are willing to rely upon the Holy Spirit (and the expertise of dedicated lay persons) to give wisdom to the saints."
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- Mountain Sky Conference Report
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- UMC-Next: Reports and Docs
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- Summit Plans Inclusive Methodist Movement
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- Petitions to the 2019 Annual Conferences
- Bishops Meet, Plan, and Ask Judicial Council For Ruling
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- 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