Posted on 11/21/2023 9:12:42 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The number of congregations that have left the United Methodist Church amid the schism over the denomination's stance on homosexuality has passed the 7,000 mark.
Over the weekend, the number of churches that have disaffiliated from the UMC since 2019 reached 7,286, according to UM News, with over 5,200 leaving this year alone.
This total includes 366 churches leaving the Kentucky Conference, 349 churches leaving the North Alabama Conference, 334 churches leaving the North Georgia Conference, 326 churches leaving the North Carolina Conference and 317 churches leaving the Indiana Annual Conference.
Of the 334 congregations that have disaffiliated from the North Georgia Conference since 2019, 261 were given approval to disaffiliate over the weekend at a special session held by the regional body.
According to a statement from the conference, there are still about 440 congregations affiliated with the regional body. These include four congregations whose disaffiliation votes were not approved: The Fountain United Methodist Church at Sugarloaf in Duluth, McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church in Powder Springs, Trinity United Methodist Church of Rome and Griffin First United Methodist Church.
Over the past few decades, the UMC has been embroiled in a divisive debate over whether the country's second-largest Protestant denomination should amend language from its Book of Discipline that prohibits the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of clergy in same-sex romantic relationships.
Although efforts to change the Book of Discipline have failed, liberal leaders within the denomination have often refused to follow or enforce the rules, drawing the ire of many theological conservatives.
At a special session of the General Conference held in 2019, delegates voted to add paragraph 2553 to the UMC Book of Discipline, a measure to allow churches to disaffiliate from the denomination. The measure is set to expire at the end of the year.
While thousands of congregations across the United States have disaffiliated from the UMC under the parameters of paragraph 2553, some congregations have either had their disaffiliation votes rejected by their regional conferences or have faced other obstacles in their bid to leave.
Some of those churches have filed legal action against their respective conferences, accusing them of either not properly following the disaffiliation process or arguing that the process is unfair.
Earlier this month, a court in Montgomery, Alabama, ruled against 42 congregations trying to leave the Alabama-West Florida Conference, concluding that, as a secular court, it did not have the authority to intervene in the churches' complaint.
"The Court is without jurisdiction to rule on such issues because the relief sought by Plaintiffs would require the Court to interpret a provision of the Book of Discipline intertwined with church doctrine," ruled the Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Thousands of congregations that have disaffiliated from the UMC have joined the Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative denomination launched as an alternative to UMC last year.
I wish Catholics would do the same.
It’s hard to believe that denominations face splitting over homosexuality, but that is happening.
Why is this happening? Are activists trying to force homosexuality and change established religious theology on the subject? I have not kept up with everything that’s happening in this area.
But concerning the Methodists, for example ,are there big numbers of homosexual Methodists who are trying to change that denomination?
The fun part starts when it turns out most gays aren’t really that interested in attending church... and those churches that didn’t leave fall apart.
I’ve got a leftist Karen cousin, who was recently gushing about her “church” and its new gay pastor. How wonderfully “welcoming” and “spiritual” it is.
I told her, this church of hers probably won’t exist in 5 years. So don’t get too attached to it.
Needless to say, it induced a lot of leftist, self-righteous indignation questioning and I was happy to explain it to her.
Is it wrong that I enjoy such reactions?
The fun part starts when it turns out most gays aren’t really that interested in attending church... and those churches that didn’t leave fall apart.
Had a friend years ago who fought for the rights of women to be ‘fireman’... Then after winning the battle I saw her on thee street and she asked if I knew any women who wanted to be ‘firemen’. I was stunned. I thought there was a backlog of women wanting the jobs and there wasn’t. It was just a way to stick it to the existing system.
It’s been a long time effort to infiltrate and destroy the church.
RE: are there big numbers of homosexual Methodists who are trying to change that denomination?
ABSOLUTELY! Since the start of this decade, there has been little to no guidance from the issue of such things as Gay Marriage, Ordination of Openly Gay, Non-Celibate Pastors and Bishops have been discussed and debated in the general conference.
This despite The UMC has rules, found in the Book of Disciplines, that prohibit same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, Many progressive UMC leaders and churches, especially in the United States, are supportive of gay marriage and ignore the rules.
Theologically conservative churches have been pleading with the denominational leaders to stand firm on this issue, to no avail. What choice do they have?
There is a historic church in Auburn that was a Baptist Church but the building was taken over by Unitarian-Universalists. They have the usual trendy-set signs out front: Love is Love, No human is illegal, Black Lives Matter, and special protest signs when Alabama carries out an execution.
Liberal Methodist Churches are equally trendy. That is why my congregation voted 190 to five to disaffiliate from the UMC.
Is it wrong that I enjoy such reactions?
LOL.....NO, it is not wrong :)
I have a leftist Karen cousin, too.
Fun times...at holidays.
I don’t think it’s wrong, no. After all, God Himself just laughs at how foolish they are.
And satan has been very busy.
Take 55 gallons of poop and add a drop of wine, nothing is changed.
Take 55 gallons of wine and add a drop of poop, and everything is changed.
Those churches that embrace the ideology of leftism are heretical.
Yes, those within denominations are trying to force homosexuality, to name one woke aspect being pushed) on their churches.
They tried it at the last General Assembly for the Church of the Nazarene. The LGBTQ+ crowd does not give up easily. I do not understand *their burning need to destroy their churches. Why not start the Gay Church of America and leave the Christians alone.
*I DO understand it is Satan at the root of it all
“Is it wrong that I enjoy such reactions?”
NO!
"It's also important to ponder that Clinton is just one of many progressive Midwestern politicians who arose over the last century, deeply influenced by Methodism's social concerns and reforming zeal. They include Walter Mondale and George McGovern, both sons of Methodist clergy, plus Hubert Humphrey, who attended Methodist worship while growing up. Farther back, William Jennings Bryan, a founder of American progressivism, was technically Presbyterian but often attended Methodist churches. So five Democratic presidential candidates have been Methodist influenced Midwestern progressives."Hillary Clinton, Methodism & Progressivism
"When asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper why she was paid $675,000 for one event, she said: 'I don't know. That is what they offered'."
US election: Hillary Clinton insists she is a progressive
"Progressive United Methodist leaders, you cannot dismiss traditionalists’ well-grounded concerns and villainize us like this, and then credibly claim the moral high ground as champions of “frank and respectful Christian dialogue.”
You cannot disregard our constructive pleas for a more amicable approach, and then act as if you share no responsibility for the contentiousness.
You cannot support rhetoric and actions that are inherently intolerant of non-liberals, and then blame non-liberals for wanting to disaffiliate.
You cannot refuse to stick your necks out to defend traditionalists from mistreatment during disaffiliations, and then expect traditionalists to trust that you would treat them well or ever have their back if they stayed UMC.
And given recent history, you cannot treat traditionalists as exclusively to blame for our denomination's divorce.
My mom’s church had to pay a large fee to disaffiliate.
“It’s hard to believe that denominations face splitting over homosexuality, but that is happening.”
I don’t think so. Everything the anti-church people have done has been a slow and progressive action. I was around when Madeline Ohare got prayer kicked out of the classrooms even though Gallup surveys in the 1950s indicated over 90% of the adult population identified as Christian. Then it progressed to not being able for a stdent to silently pray at their seat in the cafeteria before lunch. Then it was the removal of religious groups from campusses just using a room for their private business and anyone could join or not. And now it’s gone to the interaction of instructing theologies not even consistent with a faith based product with islam being not only taught, but encouraged in the public schools.
Homosexuality is being presented in the same way. In the early 1950’s, there was a subcatagory of people in the phylum. Homosexuality was being discriminated against for trying to live a normal public life...jobs, promotions, business licenses, in other words in the public sanction of society. And all it did was open up the floodwaters to fighting back until even using lies and deceit the gay community has established themselves as a power that should have been kept in the bedroom that is being an act of opposing society rather than working with it to accomplish a common goal. If you can’t stop it, and it is detrimental to society, you make rules to contain it. But as long as the feds need votes, they will support its existence for pandering. And the funny thing is, the measuring tool they used to get surveys to determine the population of homosexuals in society in the 1950’s was taken from questionaires of federal prisoner who only had that one outlet. Spin!
wy69
But concerning the Methodists, for example ,are there big numbers of homosexual Methodists who are trying to change that denomination?
If it weren’t for the United Methodist Church in Africa and Asia, this disaffiliation process never would have happened. They are extremely conservative, and held the line against allowing same sex marriages to be performed, and homosexual pastors. The UMC in the US would have voted against it, the liberal wing being larger than the conservative wing at that time. In 2020, there were over 30,000 UMC churches in the US.
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