United Methodists: As a landmark gathering approaches, African churches weigh their future.
PETER SMITH, of Associated Press, reports on how African Methodists are responding to the UMC’s dispute over sexuality and theology…
Left behind by disaffiliations, Texas town’s United Methodists charter a new church
Amarillo, Texas, USRNS Earlier this year, the seven United Methodist churches in this city in the Texas Panhandle voted to leave the country’s second-largest Protestant denomination over theological questions about homosexuality and gender identity. Since 2019, in a process dragged out by the COVID-19 pandemic and denominational infighting, hundreds of churches across Texas – and […]
“Not a real schism”: Four years later, UMC exodus less a gush, more a trickle
YONAT SHIMRON and EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service, report that an analysis of departing churches suggests the country’s second-largest Protestant denomination will be weakened, but it is unlikely to break…
In the US, South Carolina’s largest UMC church set to leave denomination
United StatesRNS South Carolina’s largest United Methodist church is gearing up to break from the denomination with a formal vote expected next month. Mt Horeb United Methodist, located in Lexington, South Carolina, about 27 kilometres from Columbia, the state capital, has for some time been inching toward a disaffiliation vote. For the past several years […]
In the US, WCA calls on conservative churches to withhold apportionments from United Methodist Church
United StatesRNS “Let our people go!” reads a statement shared over the weekend by the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a network of theologically conservative United Methodists. While the phrase might be borrowed from Moses in the Book of Exodus, the WCA is not exactly calling for a series of escalating plagues. Nevertheless, the outcry is not […]
In the US, Florida churches among first to begin exit from UMC to new, conservative denomination
United StatesRNS A statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday by the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Florida chapter caught the attention of the Florida bishop for the United Methodist Church: “107 Florida Methodist Churches Depart United Methodist Church”, it began. The Facebook post came just a few days after the launch of the Global Methodist Church, a […]
United Methodist bishops cancel virtual special session of General Conference
RNS United Methodist bishops have canceled a special session of the global denomination’s General Conference that was scheduled to meet on 8th May online. The bishops called the special session late last month after postponing the quadrennial meeting of the United Methodist Church’s decision-making body yet again amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. People attend the day of […]
Schism decision on hold, United Methodist bishop addresses way forward
RNS Graduations, funerals, college reunions and weddings have all been delayed or otherwise impacted by the yearlong pandemic, adding to the emotional roller coaster those events can be. But imagine the spiritual wear and tear for United Methodists, who for more than a year have been dealing with a looming church schism. “These are extraordinary […]
In the US, United Methodist leaders propose plan to split church over LGBTQ ordination, marriage
RNS Bishops and leaders of a number of United Methodist groups have announced a proposed agreement to split the United Methodist Church. The proposal, called the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, would create a new conservative “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would receive $US25 million over the next four years. People attend the day of […]