More than 5,000 congregations have now been approved to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church throughout the last two years over the longstanding dispute regarding the denomination’s position on homosexuality, the Christian Post reported Saturday.
“The number of churches that have had their disaffiliation votes approved by their annual conferences under Paragraph 2553 of the UMC Book of Discipline went from around 4,600 on Tuesday to 5,321 as of Friday morning,” the report observed.
UM News reported the count of the numbers of church disaffiliations that have been approved by annual conferences, with some 3,000 occurring in 2023 alone.
In contrast, between 2019 to 2021, less than 200 churches had voted to separate from the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, the Post observed.
Over 5,000 UMC churches granted disaffiliation amid schism over homosexuality; 3,000 in 2023 https://t.co/mghk6CMglm
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) June 10, 2023
“The tally comes from a UM News review of U.S. annual conference reports, publicly available journals and reports of special annual conference sessions held in 2022 and this year,” UM News noted.
A chart showing the count of church disaffiliations can be viewed here.
In 2019, UMC General Conference delegates elected to add Paragraph 2553 to the Book of Discipline, allowing a process for churches to separate from the denomination over a push by some to permit the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals.
Though, as the Post explains, efforts from the left to change the language in the Book of Discipline have failed, “many theological progressives in the UMC have refused to follow or enforce the rules.”
LGBTQ activist organization The Human Rights Campaign has referred to traditional Christian groups as “the enemy” in a newly released “state of emergency” report.
Human Rights Campaign calls Christian conservative groups 'the enemy' in 'state of emergency' report https://t.co/1Hqkk9um9T
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) June 9, 2023
An effort in early 2020 to pass a measure at General Conference that would grant $25 million for conservative Methodists to leave the UMC and create their own denomination was derailed by the COVID pandemic.
On May 1, 2022, conservatives launched the Global Methodist Church (GMC).
“The Global Methodist Church will warmly welcome people eager to join others in fulfilling its mission,” the Rev. Keith Boyette, chairman of the Transitional Leadership Council and President of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, said in a statement at the time.
“We have heard the truth of Jesus Christ, experienced the forgiveness of his grace and love, and so bear witness to his transforming power,” Boyette added. “We long to take our place alongside brothers and sisters in the church universal who seek to live out their faith everyday so that others might come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”
Boyette said regarding the schism:
Many United Methodists have grown impatient with a denomination clearly struggling to function effectively at the general church level. Theologically conservative local churches and annual conferences want to be free of divisive and destructive debates, and to have the freedom to move forward together. We are confident many existing congregations will join the new Global Methodist Church in waves over the next few years, and new church plants will sprout up as faithful members exit the UM Church and coalesce into new congregations.
Many churches that have voted to disaffiliate and join the GMC are facing financial difficulties and conflicts over property control.
“This, and other barriers, have led hundreds of churches to seek legal action in states like Florida, Georgia and Maryland,” the Post reported.
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Susan Berry, PhD is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “United Methodist Church” by United Methodist News.
