United Methodists

“The UMC Great Plains Annual Conference, which is centered on Kansas and Nebraska, passed a resolution on Saturday by a vote of 586-396 rejecting the Traditional Plan….

“Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, the largest UMC congregation in the United States, hosted a gathering of about 600 pro-LGBT United Methodists called ‘UMC Next’ this week.” - Christian Post

“Traditional Plan survives legal review, but could still set the UMC on path to division over gay marriage and clergy as Judicial Council also approves exit plan for dissenting churches.” - Christianity Today

“The review was prompted by an inquiry from The New York Times, which reported that at least four ballots were cast by individuals who were not authorized to do so, pointing primarily to irregularities among a handful of delegates from Africa from the pool of more than 800 delegates at the conference.” - RNS

“Ritter wrote on his People Need Jesus blog: ‘First World temper tantrums about the sexual expression of financially kept clergy ran into the patient ferment of God-fearing servants [in Africa] who know what it means to suffer for Christ.’” - The Great Divide

“Now that the Methodists have reached the precipice, the very complicated organizational work of division has to get underway, and one thing is sure: Nothing will happen quickly. Whatever division happens will unfold at multiple levels over at least a decade.” - RNS

“The UMC’s increasingly global delegation outweighs US push to shift LGBT positions, leading some progressive congregations to leave.” - Christianity Today

“The upcoming three-day meeting of the top legislative assembly of the United Methodist Church (UMC) to be convened on February 24 will in all probability determine whether the second biggest Protestant denomination in the United States will split due to differences in opinions regarding same-sex marriage.” - World Religion News

“In findings released earlier this month, the survey found that 44 percent of respondents identified as ‘Conservative-Traditional,’ 28 percent identified as ‘Moderate-Centrist,’ 20 percent identified as ‘Progressive-Liberal,’ and 8 percent identified as ‘unsure.’” - Christian Post