Posted on 06/07/2023 8:49:38 AM PDT by Morgana
Nearly 5,000 churches have left the United Methodist Church denomination this year for deviating from the Bible on abortion, homosexuality and other issues.
Pro-life pastors and members of the UMC have been increasingly concerned with the denomination’s actions on abortion. For years, the UMC was affiliated with the pro-abortion group Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and some of its pastors promote killing unborn babies in abortions by “blessing” abortion facilities and praying for “abortion rights.”
According to the Catholic News Agency, 4,876 churches officially disaffiliated from the denomination this year, many of them joining the biblically-based Global Methodist Church.
Nearly one fourth of the churches in the UMC denomination have left in the past two years alone. The denomination reported 30,543 churches in the U.S. in 2019, and about 1,800 more congregations left last year, bringing the total to nearly 6,700 that have disaffiliated, the Christian Post reports.
Jay Therrell, one of the leaders of the exodus and president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, told CNA that UMC leaders have been straying from “the authority of Scripture and the lordship of Christ … for many, many years,” especially on matters of human sexuality.
“We absolutely believe that the United Methodist Church is drifting day by day ever more progressive,” Therrell said.
Concerns include the ordination of two openly homosexual bishops in contradiction of official UMC beliefs and the promotion of abortions.
Here’s more from CNA:
In the United States, the UMC is divided into five “jurisdictions.” Each of these jurisdictions passed similar measures in 2022 stating that “LGBTQIA+ people will be protected, affirmed, and empowered” in the church, according to the AP. …
At the 2022 South Central Jurisdiction Conference, RMN reported that Rev. Katie McKay Simpson, a pastor from Louisiana, “called the jurisdiction to collective confession and apology for challenging the historic election of Bishop Karen Oliveto, the Church’s first out gay bishop.”
For many years, pro-life pastors in the UMC also have been warning about the growing acceptance of abortion among denomination leaders.
The current United Methodist Church position does not condemn the killing of unborn babies as a sin. Instead, the position statement describes abortion as a “complex” issue. It says: “Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child.”
In 2021, the United Methodist Women, an organization within the denomination, went further by issuing a statement that openly promoted legalized abortion on demand. In the statement, the United Methodist Women criticized the Texas heartbeat law, which has saved thousands of unborn babies from abortion, and promised to “pray” for abortions to become legal again in Texas.
Our local Methodist church disaffiliated a couple of months ago. Every member except one voted to do so.
The local church here was worried about the national organization taking over their property and assets. After getting lawyers involved, they voted to leave.
A person (or group) has to stand for something or else fall for anything.
For my own view, these schisms are predictable as the human response to much is that amazing phenomenon as "people walk away" and take their wallets with them. Annheuser-Busch, Target, FOX and, rather quickly, the City of San Francisco are learning this.
"4,876 Methodist Churches Leave the Pro-Abortion United Methodist Church" is a lot of churches, a lot of assets both human and financial. Because politics can be so "inclusive."
The united methodist church is also extremely anti-gun. I believe they may have been behind origin of handgun control inc. Any believers that need a new home, check out the missouri synod lutherns. Bible based, and conservative.
I think more important the number of Congregations leaving the UMC is what that number represents in terms of members - members of congregations. A corolary to that would be what is the average size of congregations leaving the UMC versus those remaining. Those two sets of data could help project the safety or demise of the UMC.
The U.S. and other western supporters of the UMC as is were outnumbered by their own churches globally when they failed to when general conference votes in their favor on LGBT issues. It was a majority in the global UMC congregations, more outside the U.S. than in, that sided with U.S. “traditionalist” congregations/conferences against the current “Liberal” dominant UMC. The new “traditionalist” Methodist Church will mostly likely outgrow the UMC globally, while the UMC remnant declines.
I wish my Methodist Church would leave, but it won’t. The congregation is just too blue.
With so many churches leaving, the denomination will become much more radical and further from Biblical beliefs, which will cause attendance to decline even further even if the number of churches stays the same.
I believe that under the recent agreement, churches have until December to decide to leave. So the total will probably end up being significantly higher. Progressivism blights everything it touches.
Went looking, and found....
8. Advocate for regulation
---Finally, we are called "to advocate at the local and national levels for laws that prevent or reduce gun violence." Some of these measures include:
---Universal background checks on all gun purchases, ensuring that all guns are sold through licensed retailers, and establishing a minimum age of 21 years for a gun purchase or possession.
---Ratifying the Arms Trade Treaty.
---Prohibiting those convicted of violent crimes, those under restraining order due to the threat of violence, and those with serious mental illness that may be a danger to themselves or others from purchasing a gun.
---Ensuring greater access to services for those suffering from mental illness.
---Banning magazine and weapons designed to fire multiple rounds each time the trigger is pulled.
---Promoting technologies that help law-enforcement agencies trace crime guns and promote public safety.
Source: https://www.umc.org/en/content/ways-united-methodists-can-take-a-stand-against-gun-violence
I suspect Barb will remain mum.
Good for them!!! Backbone is good for you!
I was born and raised LCMS. My father was a pastor. They are indeed very careful with their doctrine.
...on the other hand, they are no longer too happy with me. I don’t think Genesis is an accurate portrayal of Creation, and it disturbs them with what I can clearly see in Genesis 6:1. Anyone who uses the Bible as a Technical Manual of the Universe is making a terrible mistake.
Georgia let the national Episcopal church take the property of Christ Church, Savannah, which predated the United States by quite a while.
The problem is the "Dennis Canon" which was adopted by the national body - buried deep in a resolution - which declares that all property belongs to the national church. It blindsided a lot of people.
The UMC passed a resolution allowing churches to leave the denomination within a certain time frame, and I believe it allows the property to remain with the congregation. Apparently they took the Episcopal situation very much to heart . . . .
UMC’s around here had to pay for their buildings.
Roughly 20%. A good start.
I wish the LCMS would expand into Alabama. I would love to attend.
Any LCMS church would be delighted to have you stroll in. Be advised: they are Krauts, and will take some time to warm up to you. ;-D
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