United Methodists endorse change that could give regions more say on LGBTQ and other issues
United States AP United Methodist delegates have overwhelmingly endorsed a constitutional amendment seen by advocates as a way of defusing debates over the role of LGBTQ people in the church by giving rule-making autonomy to each region of the international church. Delegates voted 586-164 on Thursday for the “regionalisation” proposal on the third day of their 11-day General […]
Explainer – United Methodists open first top-level conference since breakup over LGBTQ inclusion
United States AP Thousands of United Methodists are gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their big denominational meeting, known as General Conference. It’s a much-anticipated gathering. Typically it is held every four years, but church leaders delayed the 2020 gathering until now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rev K Karen, left, of St Paul & St […]
Essay: A dramatic schism over social issues? The United Methodist Church has been here before – but this time, America’s religious landscape is far different
CHRISTOPHER H EVANS, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the parallels between the current UMC schism and that which took place in 1844…
United Methodists: Legislation aims to “decolonise”, give parity to non-US conferences
YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports that a proposed regionalisation plan would undo the dominance and control of the US church and make it on par with United Methodist conferences abroad…
In the US, United Methodist pastors feel worse and worry more than a decade ago
United StatesRNS United Methodist clergy have been through the wringer in recent years, with a worldwide pandemic, a church schism and the ongoing decline of one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations. Those stresses have likely taken a toll on their health, a new report shows. A survey of 1,200 United Methodist clergy found that half have […]
In the US, UMC’s North Georgia Conference blocks church departures
United StatesRNS A regional body of the United Methodist Church in the US state of Georgia will temporarily block member churches from leaving the denomination, citing the spread of “defamatory” misinformation about the United Methodist Church and its disaffiliation procedure. In an email sent on Wednesday, the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church announced […]
United Methodists: Texas megachurch White’s Chapel departs UMC to anchor new Methodist ‘college’
BELYNN HOLLARS and EMILY MCFARLAN MILLER, of Religion News Service report on White’s Chapel United Methodist Church’s bid to become what co-pastor Rev John McKellar calls “a healing agent between all of Methodism”…
In the US, Louisiana churches leave Methodist denomination amid schism
New Orleans, Louisiana, US AP The United Methodist Church, a mainstay of the American religious landscape, has cut ties with 58 churches in its Louisiana conference amid a nationwide schism within the Protestant denomination. The disaffiliations, approved in a virtual conference session Saturday, were the latest in a series of decisions that many Louisiana churches have made […]
US Bishop slams “negative rhetoric” as conservative Methodists declare end to moratorium
United StatesRNS In his first official address as president of the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops, Bishop Thomas Bickerton of the New York annual conference called out conservative groups that are encouraging United Methodist churches to join a splinter denomination, citing divisive rhetoric and “accusations and statements that are just not true”. Bickerton accused […]
US annual conferences can’t just leave the United Methodist Church, rules top court
United StatesRNS No, an annual conference in the United States can’t just up and leave the United Methodist Church. At least not yet. While the denomination’s Book of Discipline has provisions for individual churches wishing to leave the United Methodist Church with their properties, there’s nothing within church law that would allow an annual conference […]