Are Departures from the United Methodist denomination in the USA nearly over?
In the vicinity of Kokomo, Indiana, several former United Methodist churches are now “community churches” or members of the Global Methodists. We recently read of a number of Florida churches leaving the denomination.
So are these done? What percentage do current United Methodists retain compared to what they had a few years ago? Do you have an idea/projection as to where this is all going.
Some nondenominational fellowships were hoping to pick up some of these churches and add them to their group, but the longstanding Methodist tradition of ordaining woman has generally negated such hopes. Are the more conservative formerly UM churches still too liberal for many of us? Comment freely.
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There’s apparently one process for exiting the denomination now, but another one that was supposed to get voted on years ago. That one is easier? I don’t know what the difference is. If it passes in 2024, there may be another wave of departures.
This article is helpful…
In 2019, the General Conference held a special session and passed a plan for congregations that wished to leave for “reasons of conscience” regarding human sexuality.
The deal says after two-thirds of a local church agrees to leave, it must uphold significant financial obligations to the United Methodist Church, including money for fees and pensions.
An amicable separation plan created by church leaders was supposed to pass the following year, at the 2020 General Conference. But the coronavirus pandemic pushed the meeting — and the plan’s approval — back to 2024.
Churches have until the end of December to decide whether to leave under the current rules. (CBS News)
My guess is that the 2024 ‘General Conference’ will do one of these
- dramatically liberalize, leading to another wave of departures
- compromise in some way, still leading to less dramatic new wave of departures
- put the whole thing on hold even longer, still resulting in more departures, but probably less than the other two scenarios
So I think it keeps shrinking regardless.
Then, after they fully liberalize the book of discipline, and things settle down, they continue to shrink—if not in # of congregations, certainly in number of people attending.
And the alternative Methodist denominations that have formed will see some growth.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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