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Thread: 1,831 United Methodist Churches Have Left Denomination over LGBT Issue: Report

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    1,831 United Methodist Churches Have Left Denomination over LGBT Issue: Report

    More than 1,800 United Methodist churches in the United States have left the denomination since 2019 over disagreements about the body's stance on LGBT issues, according to new data.

    The report from the denomination's General Council on Finance and Administration revealed that 1,831 churches representing 400,000 members have left the United Methodist Church. The majority of the churches that have left – 1,583 – are from the Southeastern and South Central regions. Religion News Service (RNS) first reported on the data.

    All total, the 1,831 churches comprise 6.1 percent of the United Methodist Churches' 30,000 congregations, RNS said.

    Under an exit plan, UMC churches have until Dec. 31 to leave. Many of the churches are joining the Global Methodist Church, a new denomination launched last in May of last year by conservative Methodists.

    The Global Methodist Church said this month it had welcomed 1,100 churches and 1,200 clergy members since its launch.

    "The GM Church's primary focus is on its mission – to make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly," the new denomination said this month. "It is a Church that intentionally empowers local congregations to have maximum discretion in the way they organize and deploy resources for ministry."

    The Global Methodist Church's Book of Doctrines and Discipline defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

    "We believe that human sexuality is a gift of God that is to be affirmed as it is exercised within the legal and spiritual covenant of a loving and monogamous marriage between one man and one woman," the book says.

    On sexuality and gender, the book says, "While affirming a scriptural view of sexuality and gender, we welcome all to experience the redemptive grace of Jesus and are committed to being a safe place of refuge, hospitality, and healing for any who may have experienced brokenness in their sexual lives (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20)."

    1,831 United Methodist Churches Have Left Denomination over LGBT Issue: Report - Michael Foust

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    Good.

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  5. #3
    The UMC is evil. My mom has been talking about this. It sounds like the UMC Conference has become completely corrupted and they are trying to strong arm these churches by seizing their properties or making them payout large percentages. My mom's church is over 200 years old and she is heartbroken. Some of the things that are required for a clean break is that the church needs to provide contact information for all voting parishioners, all voting parishioners need to attend four classes. All voting parishioners will be contacted to confirm that they attended these classes. After all that, no guarantee they won't still claim the property or percentage of funds. It's my mom's opinion that they only thing they really care about is the money. She knows that the church is not a building or the amount of money it has, but she doesn't want to "lose her home." I don't blame her. This particular church is very conservative, but not "political" apart from the older members. I think apathy is the bigger enemy here. It's sad.

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    I feel such sympathy for those who are so rooted in denominationalism as their identity.

    But everything is shaking... everything from church structures (physical/spiritual), working structures, political structures, even down to our food supply structure.

    What a terrifying, yet sobering time to be alive. Terrifying to see things that I didn't think would be shaken to be shaken, and sobering with a fear of the Lord coming upon me as I look and grasp and hang on to what He is doing, and letting go of what He is shaking loose.

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  9. #5
    A few years back I posted this topic and my comments as the split was starting. It was on the heels of the worldwide vote. A UMC pastor's wife (old schoolmate) lit me up for posting it. She scoffed at it, ridiculed me, mocked me and insulted me. Funny thing, she never unfriended me. Probably to self righteous to do such a thing. She is an example of loving the finer things in life while in "ministry".

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  11. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Highly Favoured View Post
    I feel such sympathy for those who are so rooted in denominationalism as their identity.

    But everything is shaking... everything from church structures (physical/spiritual), working structures, political structures, even down to our food supply structure.

    What a terrifying, yet sobering time to be alive. Terrifying to see things that I didn't think would be shaken to be shaken, and sobering with a fear of the Lord coming upon me as I look and grasp and hang on to what He is doing, and letting go of what He is shaking loose.
    I know you weren't speaking to me, but with my mom and the core parishioners, I think it's more rooted in "family." We were Methodists because that's the church we went to. Yes, we did learn about the Wesleys, but we could have just as easily been any other denom. The NEUMS is where I got married, it's where we all got saved and baptized in water and the holy spirit. It's where my grandmother found the Lord late in life and was saved. We were very vested in one another. It would be devastating to see our church corrupted this way, but in the end, the church is people, not a building.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Susan View Post
    I know you weren't speaking to me, but with my mom and the core parishioners, I think it's more rooted in "family." We were Methodists because that's the church we went to. Yes, we did learn about the Wesleys, but we could have just as easily been any other denom. The NEUMS is where I got married, it's where we all got saved and baptized in water and the holy spirit. It's where my grandmother found the Lord late in life and was saved. We were very vested in one another. It would be devastating to see our church corrupted this way, but in the end, the church is people, not a building.
    No, I wasn't speaking to you --- just in general. During the pandemic we've watched our local (metro Detroit area) huge building/campus Methodist church dwindle in attendance (we can see it when we drive by on our way to church), post all kinds of politically correct statements on their lighted signboard ("All are welcome here - LGBTQ?" - "Black Lives Matter" - and similar statements).

    It was a general comment about ALL of the shaking going on. I'm being challenged to my core. Everything that we thought was here to stay is being shaken, including churches, major employers, food processing, federal governments, international relations, everything. It's incredibly sobering to me and sets off a warning bell inside me to be rooted only in Christ, and nothing else.

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    QUOTE: It was a general comment about ALL of the shaking going on. I'm being challenged to my core. Everything that we thought was here to stay is being shaken, including churches, major employers, food processing, federal governments, international relations, everything. It's incredibly sobering to me and sets off a warning bell inside me to be rooted only in Christ, and nothing else.

    Amen!

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