(no longer) "United" Methodist Church

[Gil Bang 26041]

The United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops, ending a five-day meeting Friday, acknowledged the inevitable breakup of their denomination – a schism that will widen this weekend with the launch of a global movement led by theologically conservative Methodists.

The breakaway denomination, called the Global Methodist Church, will officially exist as of Sunday. Its leaders have been exasperated by liberal churches’ continued defiance of UMC bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay clergy.

Bishop Thomas Bickerton, who became the Council of Bishops’ new president Friday, described the launch of the new movement as a “sad and sobering reality.” Bickerton said he regrets any departure from the UMC and values the denomination’s diversity of thought.

“There is no perfect church,” he said. “The constant fighting, the vitriolic rhetoric, the punitive behaviors have no place in how we preserve and promote our witness as Christian believers.”

He said he prays the infighting will stop and the UMC will rediscover its mission to make disciples for Christ. He urged the UMC, even as it suffers defections, to think of May 1 as its launch day as well.

“We are the United Methodist Church not interested in continuing sexism, racism, homophobia, irrelevancy and decline,” he said. “What we are interested in is a discovery of what God has in mind for us on the horizon as the next expression of who we are as United Methodists.”

Bickerton, who heads the UMC’s New York City region, succeeded Louisiana-based Cynthia Fierro Harvey as president of the bishops’ council.

Harvey acknowledged the inevitable splintering of the denomination when she preached April 25 during her final address as the Council of Bishops president, “I also realize that it might be time to bless and send our sisters and brothers who cannot remain under the big tent.”

A leader of the breakaway movement indicated Sunday’s launch would take place with little fanfare.

“This is the date that we can start receiving churches as they leave the United Methodist Church, and that’s going to occur over a considerable amount of time,” said the Rev. Keith Boyette, chairman of the new denomination’s Transitional Leadership Council and a United Methodist minister in Virginia. “It’ll be more of a rolling celebration.”

Its transitional doctrine includes a belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, and clergy must adhere to it – a core point of division in the UMC for decades.

Boyette said he expects some churches and pastors to announce Sunday they are joining the Global Methodist Church. He will be among them.

“On May 1, I will no longer be a member of the United Methodist Church,” said Boyette, who has already been approved – effective Sunday -- as a clergyperson in the new denomination.

It is easier for clergy to leave the UMC than an entire church, which has to follow a layered process. As a result, Boyette expects the ranks of the Global Methodist Church will grow over time, noting that some who want to join will wait until after the UMC's 2024 General Conference – and the possible passage of a protocol that spells out details for the breakup.

Boyette criticized the actions of some members of the Council of Bishops, including the decision to further delay the General Conference. He suggested some bishops are intentionally blocking churches from using certain processes for exiting the denomination.

Global Methodist Church organizers had originally expected to launch the denomination only after the next General Conference of the UMC. That legislative body is the only one that could approve a tentative agreement — unveiled in 2020 after negotiations between conservatives, liberals and centrists — to allow churches and regional groups to leave the denomination and keep their property.

But the General Conference, originally scheduled for 2020, was already delayed for two straight years by the pandemic. In March, the UMC announced it was pushing off the next gathering yet again — to 2024 — due to long delays in the U.S. processing of visa applications. A little more than half of the denomination’s members are overseas, notably in Africa and the Philippines.

The United Methodist Church claims 6.3 million members in the U.S. and 6.5 million overseas.

Differences over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy have simmered for years in the UMC, and came to a head in 2019 at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 to strengthen bans on LGBTQ-inclusive practices. Most U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBTQ-friendly options; they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the delegates from Methodist strongholds in Africa and the Philippines.

In the aftermath of that meeting, many moderate and liberal clergy made clear they would not abide by the bans, and various groups worked on proposals to let the UMC split along theological lines.

___

Associated Press writer Giovanna Dell'Orto contributed to this report.

___

 

 

[South Austin 52624]

Happened to the Episcopal Church about 15 years ago, with several churches breaking away to join the global Anglican Church. They said it wasn’t about the gays, which means it was about the gays.

[Red Five 40897]

Don’t they talk to God? Just ask him what he thinks and bam there you go. Easy peasy. End of fighting.

[RPM 26357]

Does this mean we can dance now?

[mdmost 43055]

Curly Bill gifs to all the conservative Methodists then, I guess.

Edited May 1, 2022 by mdmost

[RPM 26357]

Edited May 1, 2022 by RPM

[Bigbend1812 12941]

[Pato del Muerto 52610]

Just had a nice convo with the wife about how the traditionalists in this issue were previously the non-traditionalists in an earlier schism, and that repeats itself going back further and further, thru Luther, up to and arguably including the original Christians being the non-traditional splinter from the Jewish faith. And then further still with the Jewish monotheistic faith coming from the world of polytheism. And so on. 
 

but each believes they are the true and correct way. 

[TonyTexas 10532]

Good. Bigotry is never going away but isolation is one way to minimize its influence. 

Edited May 1, 2022 by TonyTexas

[Ag with kids 581]

52 minutes ago, RPM said:

We've got a meth head on the corner of Waldron and SPID in Corpus that walks around like that.

[Surly Bevo 25167]

Dis-organized religion....maybe not a bad trend.

[UTGrad98 2282]

This happened to my dungeons and dragons group some time back with adhering to 5th edition rules. Fantasy worlds can be a bitch to navigate.

[crash_davis 23115]

Jesus is love and grace, but not too much love and grace. We need to be judicious with how much love and grace we can share in his name.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21932]

I’m not a Methodist, but as I understand it the denomination holds title to the churches which was causing problems for the breakaway churches.  If it’s happening now, I guess they figured it out

[Bateshorn 9942]

The US Episcopal Church looking at pro LGBTQ domestic Methodist members, rn:

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Bateshorn

[crash_davis 23115]

so basically. a bunch of people in a big book club want want to form another book club so that they can have a say in restricting members to the their new book club?

this basically sums it up, right?

[F250 28823]

11 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

The US Episcopal Church looking at pro LGBTQ domestic Methodist members, rn:

 

They have been moving towards full communion for years now. I don't see it going further than that due to slight but significant differences.

 

[Sawbonz 27594]

This was more about the international UMC esp the churches in Africa being adamant about not adopting inclusivity but I’m sure some US churches will break away 

[Brisketexan 105402]

4 hours ago, South Austin said:

Happened to the Episcopal Church about 15 years ago, with several churches breaking away to join the global Anglican Church. They said it wasn’t about the gays, which means it was about the gays.

Same with the Presbyterians (PCUSA) -- the breakaway denomination is ECO (Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians), and it's definitely not about the gays, except for the fact that it's totally and completely about the gays.

Previous denomination splits -- north vs. south (slavery and race) and over ordination of women.  You've got congregations that bailed on the main denomination because slavery was god-ordained (many decades later -- whoops), and later, because women are not suited to speaking the word of god (many decades later, many of them said "whoops" again), and now they're leaving because accepting gay people is the greatest sin in the history of sins (this parenthetical reserved for the next "whoops").

[Rudiger 1169]

2 hours ago, crash_davis said:

Jesus is love and grace, but not too much love and grace. We need to be judicious with how much love and grace we can share in his name.

I see someone is a Goldilocksian. 

[Paco 1934]

Splitters!

[jdhorn92 1558]

Im on the Board of Stewards at our United Methodist Church.  We have lost quite a few families over the last 12-18 mos over this deal.  Thankfully the vast majority of our Church takes a very pragmatic view on this issue and we will be remaining with the United Methodist Church. 

 I have no problem with gays and lesbians in the Church, wanting to get married etc.. although I do understand why those have left and to each his own.

 

I will say from what i have witnessed, its devastating to the district leaders, ministers, lay leaders , as politics have crept in to pur Church life, though i suppose its been there all along in varying degrees.  I think on whole, everyone wanted this deal to just be a personal choice, left alone for everyone to interpret and act as they feel compelled to do.  I wish it was that simple and each minister could do as they please and if someone had a problem with it, they could make a decision that best suits them personally. I know that may have been pollyanna thinking.

[Pato del Muerto 52610]

On 5/1/2022 at 3:56 PM, Paco said:

Splitters!

Splitters are quitters

[Leeroy Jenkins 2415]

Fuck church

Fuck grump old racist and homophobes

Fuck politics

 

[TwiceHorn 31540]

On 5/1/2022 at 1:40 PM, Sawbonz said:

This was more about the international UMC esp the churches in Africa being adamant about not adopting inclusivity but I’m sure some US churches will break away 

Correct, unlike the Episcopal Church (I think) and the Presbyterian Church, the US UMC will remain substantially intact.  The UMC  is primarily a US denomination that "acquired" all of its overseas churches through missionary work.

[Beau Vine 54453]

On 5/1/2022 at 1:40 PM, Sawbonz said:

This was more about the international UMC esp the churches in Africa being adamant about not adopting inclusivity but I’m sure some US churches will break away 

and the Phillipines.