United Methodists

“It seems a little strange, but (pet ministry) is mission, it’s evangelism, it’s education, it’s hunger relief, it’s pastoral care. All those things are part of the church.” - RNS

“A regional governing body for a Protestant denomination has seized the assets of a large congregation in Georgia in a dispute over who should be the senior pastor.” - RNS

“The United Methodist Church has once again postponed its quadrennial meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, delaying further a widely anticipated vote by delegates from across the globe on a proposal to split the denomination over the inclusion of LGBTQ members.” - BPNews

“ ‘The timeline of the Holy Spirt is driving our decision to launch LMX at this moment, and we are responding to that call,’ the Rev. Althea Spencer-Miller said during a presentation Sunday evening following the denomination’s first online worship service.” - RNS

“The stakes are high. The coming General Conference faces multiple proposals to resolve longtime debate over homosexuality by splitting the denomination along theological lines.” - C.Leaders

“At the United Methodist Church, money’s tight, factions are readying exits, and social justice takes priority in witness.

“This month, the United Methodist Church (UMC) was scheduled to hold its quadrennial General Conference in Minneapolis, with a debate about homosexuality causing a potential schism. But the 10-day meeting and the much-anticipated vote have been bumped to August 29, 2021, still in Minneapolis.” - CL

“Many U.S. United Methodist leaders see the delay as a blessing, allowing more time and cooler heads to consider a split. But some have also expressed concern over continuing harm to many in the denomination eager to move on after decades of debate over the role of LGBTQ Christians in the church.” - RNS

“When Princeton embraced liberal theology, Machen left and founded Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia to carry on Biblical training for Presbyterian clergy.

“[I]f the agreement is approved, it will represent—in essence—the final fracturing of the traditional American church from two primary streams of Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) to three—Catholic, Mainline, and Evangelical. The secular media will cast the divide primarily in the terms it understands—as focused on ‘LGBT issues’—but that’s incomplete.” - David French