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.
For Immediate Release
June 26, 2019 (Original post at UMC.org)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church (COB) has asked the Judicial Council for a declaratory decision as to the constitutionality, meaning, application and effect of certain petitions adopted as the Traditional Plan by the 2019 General Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, in February.
Although the Judicial Council addressed the constitutionality of all of the petitions adopted at the 2019 General Conference in Decision 1378, the COB has identified numerous issues regarding the Traditional Plan that need to be addressed for the benefit of The United Methodist Church.
Read more: UMC Bishops pose five questions to Judicial Council on Traditional Plan
by Darren Cushman Wood [Indianapolis Pastor]
July 1, 2019
Dear Centrists,
As a progressive, I celebrate that you are standing up and speaking out against the Traditional Plan. You have amazed me with your success in getting centrists and progressives elected to General Conference. What we progressives tried to do for years, you have made real progress this year. It has been a successful political coalition.
But our coalition is not tidy. We are in a time of transition and even the labels we use reflect the messy ambiguities of the moment....
By Lovett H. Weems, Jr. on April 9, 2019 (from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership)
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says the current governance structure does not fit the realities of a global United Methodist Church. He suggests that General Conference focus on theological and historical identity, mission, and values, while Annual Conferences focus on context-sensitive structure and regulations, including clergy standards.
Read more: General Conference is Broken; Annual Conferences Are Not
By Heather Hahn
June 27, 2019 | UM News
Months after a bruising 2019 special United Methodist General Conference, U.S. annual conference voters elected a significantly different slate of delegates to make big decisions in 2020.
Bottom line: More U.S. delegates now publicly oppose the Traditional Plan than did so during February’s gathering, when the plan prevailed by a vote of 438-384. However, advocates from various perspectives agree the shift is unlikely to be big enough to overturn the plan that strengthens bans in the Book of Discipline on same-sex weddings and “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy. [Continue reading]
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