Should the United Methodist Church Split over Same-Sex Marriage?

From Anxious Bench-

I am not a Methodist—well, not anymore. I grew up in the United Methodist Church (UMC), but have been a member of various other denominations since my college years. So the current debates within the United Methodist Church are not my fight. But they do interest me, both because of my religious history and because I am a religious historian.

Most mainline American Protestant denominations have liberalized their stance on same-sex relationships in recent years. The Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the American Baptist Churches, USA (ABCUSA), and the Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA), among others, now preside over same-sex marriages and ordain ministers in same-sex relationships. The United Methodist Church, by contrast, retained its traditional stance barring both of those practices longer than other mainline denominations.

More here-

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2020/02/should-the-united-methodist-church-split-over-same-sex-marriage/

United Methodists talk more about potential split over same-sex marriage, gay clergy

From Pittsburgh-

As Methodists in Western Pennsylvania consider the future of their denomination, a group that has proposed an amicable split explained the proposal in more detail Monday.

Known as the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation,” the proposal allows for the formation of a new “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would not sanction the performance of same-sex weddings or the ordination of openly gay clergy, and the continuation of a presumably smaller but more liberal United Methodist Church.

Questions having to do with human sexuality, LGBT persons and biblical authority have roiled the United Methodist Church for decades but, until now, have not led to formal divisions within the global Protestant denomination — the second-largest in the United States.

More here-

 https://triblive.com/local/regional/united-methodists-talk-more-about-potential-split-over-same-sex-marriage-gay-clergy/

The Methodists, the mediator and the divorce plan

From Pittsburgh-

It was a divorce mediation unlike any other, with a small group of diverse leaders shuttling back and forth to Washington, D.C., from the far corners of the country and the world, trying as best they could to cushion the breakup of a dysfunctional family of 13 million.

What emerged on Jan. 3, after months of talks, was a plan to amicably divide the United Methodist Church into at least two main churches, each with a mandate to pursue a different vision of theology, biblical interpretation and the role of LGBTQ persons in marriage and ministry.

Sixteen people — including bishops from the United Methodists’ American and foreign conferences, as well as advocates from groups at the Methodist left, right and center — met at the offices of a Washington law firm three times over the latter part of 2019, and held video conference calls in between.

More here-

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2020/01/13/United-Methodist-Church-separation-protocol-lgbtq-ordination-gay-marriage/stories/202001120048

After decades of fighting, United Methodists avoid a visit from Ghost of the Episcopal Future?

From Get Religion-

It’s the Methodist question I have heard the most from GetReligion readers (and even locals here in East Tennessee) over the weekend.

I will paraphrase: If the conservatives have been winning the big votes at United Methodist conferences for the past couple of decades, then why are news reports saying that the traditionalists have agreed to “leave the United Methodist Church”?

This is the response that popped into my head a few hours ago after round of news reports, Twitter and online buzz: Basically, I think conservative Methodists have been visited by the Ghost of the Episcopal Future. 

Methodist traditionalists are not interested in 50 years of hand-to-hand legal conflict with the entrenched United Methodist principalities and powers. Hold that thought. Meanwhile, I will admit that it’s hard to see the logic of this statement in any one news report. Let’s start with some math from the Associated Press:

More here-

https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2020/1/6/after-decades-of-fighting-united-methodists-avoid-a-visit-from-ghost-of-episcopalians-future

United Methodist Church announces plan to split over same-sex marriage

From The Washington Post-

The United Methodist Church is expected to split into two denominations in an attempt to end a years-long, contentious fight over same-sex marriage, church leaders announced Friday. The historic schism would divide the nation’s third-largest religious denomination.

Leaders of the church said they had agreed to spin off a “traditionalist Methodist” denomination, which would continue to oppose same-sex marriage and to refuse ordination to LGBT clergy, while allowing the remaining portion of the United Methodist Church to permit same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy for the first time in its history.

The plan would need to be approved in May at the denomination’s worldwide conference.
The writers of the plan called the division “the best means to resolve our differences, allowing each part of the Church to remain true to its theological understanding, while recognizing the dignity, equality, integrity, and respect of every person.”

The United Methodist Church is the United States’s largest mainline Protestant denomination. The church has fought bitterly about LGBT inclusion for years, and leaders often feared the fight would lead to a schism.

More here-

 https://www.timestelegram.com/news/20200105/united-methodist-church-announces-plan-to-split-over-same-sex-marriage

United Methodist Church Announces Plan to Split Over Same-Sex Marriage

From The New York Times-

A group of leaders of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, announced on Friday a plan that would formally split the church, citing “fundamental differences” over same-sex marriage after years of division.

The plan would sunder a denomination with 13 million members globally — roughly half of them in the United States — and create at least one new “traditionalist Methodist” denomination that would continue to ban same-sex marriage as well as the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. 

It seems likely that the majority of the denomination’s churches in the United States would remain in the existing United Methodist Church, which would become a more liberal-leaning institution as conservative congregations worldwide depart. 

More here-

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/us/methodist-split-gay-marriage.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR2-JiztVNR4ehwXL0fOCCXKAQuq59YdBRqRg1vh1MYD9vJP7FmbHy31Uqg 

and here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/01/03/united-methodist-church-is-expected-split-over-gay-marriage-disagreement-fracturing-nations-third-largest-denomination/?fbclid=IwAR0S4OCECj-VPz7hB5z8k0Ziwf_PcETnDr87V09Y0O6g-ZSlTDciv8cLq6A

Story of the Wesley brothers illustrates faith, humanity

From South Carolina-

The man was a giant, standing 20 feet tall. Glazed in gold, he clutched a Bible in his right hand and extended his left, open palmed, an invitation to come closer.

This is the image of the Rev. John Wesley that greets those who enter the Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum and Library at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island. The founder of Methodism looms large on the very ground that he walked upon more than 280 years ago.

While the depiction is an impressive one, it’s not a true representation of the man. In actuality, Wesley was small framed, 5 foot, 3 inches tall, weighing in at 122 pounds. Like the statue compared to the reality of his stature, Wesley’s real life seems to oppose his untarnished legacy. In reality, Wesley was filled with a contradictions and shortcomings that plagued the pious yet all too human man.

More here-

https://thebrunswicknews.com/life/story-of-the-wesley-brothers-illustrates-faith-humanity/article_25b26437-51fc-52b1-ad12-b10ffdfa81f6.html

Church of England moves towards communion with the Methodist Church

From Christian Today-

The Church of England's national assembly has backed proposals to continue the process towards communion with the Methodist Church. 

Members of the General Synod meeting in York over the weekend agreed to begin drafting a number of texts towards this end, including a "formal declaration" outlining a new relationship of communion between the two Churches. 

The motion approved by Synod also instructs the Faith and Order Commission to work on additional texts for the inaugural services that would take place after communion is agreed, and the guidelines covering how presbyters and priests from each Church could serve in the other. 

The House of Bishops is to report back on the progress being made following elections to the new General Synod taking place next year. 

The Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth, said the proposals offered a "historic opportunity" for the two Churches. 

More here-

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/church-of-england-moves-towards-communion-with-the-methodist-church/132785.htm

UMC Bishops advance 'full communion' agreement with Episcopal Church

From Christian Post-

The United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops approved sending a resolution to the 2020 General Conference to approve a “full communion” agreement with The Episcopal Church.

Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, co-chair of the United Methodist-Episcopal Dialogue Committee, told those gathered at a meeting last week where they approved the resolution by a unanimous voice vote, that it was important to explain what the full communion proposal “is and what it is not.”

“It’s not an organic merger, two denominations becoming one, but the reminder that we see in one another the signs of church — one holy catholic and apostolic church,” said Bishop Palmer, as reported by the United Methodist News Service.

As part of the agreement, the UMC and the Episcopal Church will officially acknowledge each other as partners in ministry, recognize each other’s baptism and communion and share clergy.

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/umc-bishops-advance-full-communion-agreement-with-episcopal-church.html

Split possible after Methodists uphold marriage stance

From Baptist Press-

A ruling by the United Methodist Church's highest court has upheld the denomination's support of traditional marriage and its opposition to LGBT ordination. The ruling, some evangelical commentators say, could portend a split in the UMC.

"The United Methodist Church is not going to be able to hold together" as its liberal and conservative elements espouse conflicting views of human sexuality among other matters, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said today (April 29) in his podcast "The Briefing." "It is not going to be a united Methodist Church. The polarities within the denomination are simply too great."

In an April 26 ruling, the UMC's Judicial Council upheld 10 of 17 petitions in the Traditional Plan narrowly adopted by delegates to the UMC General Conference in February. The Traditional Plan affirmed the UMC's longstanding declarations that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" and that "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" cannot be ordained to the ministry or married in the UMC.

More here-

http://www.bpnews.net/52822/split-possible-after-methodists-uphold-marriage-stance

United Methodists could split over LGBT debate, as have other denominations

From Columbus-

The Episcopal Church, an American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, consecrated its first openly gay bishop in 2003. It passed a resolution in 2009 that “God’s call is open to all,” eradicating discriminatory barriers to the election of bishops. And in 2015, the church decided as a denomination to perform same-sex marriages.

Individuals, churches and entire dioceses left and formed new American denominations. They joined the worldwide Anglican church, which doesn’t support same-sex marriage or ordination of openly gay preachers.

“The Methodist Church is not going through something new ... The Methodist Church is going through what the Episcopal Church went through 15 years ago,” said the Rev. Paul Williams, rector at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Pickerington. “They’re following a path many have gone through, and they’ll be OK.”

More here-

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190422/united-methodists-could-split-over-lgbt-debate-as-have-other-denominations 

also here-

https://lbpost.com/news/that-which-i-knew-is-dead-methodists-on-the-brink-of-schism-over-lgbt-inclusion/

LGBT clergy, representing the new face of faith, speak out dangers of systemic spiritual abuse

From Philadelphia-

Are these radical new beliefs? Are these simply new political trends that aim to upend the teachings of Jesus? Not really, says Michael Ruk, an Episcopal priest.

“Jesus speaks very little about sexuality in the New Testament, but he does constantly include and expand the Kingdom of God to the outcast and embraces them,” said Ruk, who leads St. Philip's Episcopal Church in New Hope. “It’s not one text, but the entirety of Jesus' life and the ministry which informs this belief. [It’s really all about looking] at the collective understanding of transformative teachings of Jesus.”

Ruk, who is also openly gay, says a third of his congregation is LGBT and that the church takes part in the Pride Parade every year. He goes so far as to apologize on behalf of Christians for their history of sexism, homophobia and the damage it has done.

More here-

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news/lgbt-clergy-representing-the-new-face-of-faith-speak-out/article_4e51792a-5a22-11e9-be32-cbb474fcc359.html

On Religion: Union possible on Episcopal, United Methodist left?

From California-

Next year, delegates at the United Methodist Church’s General Conference are supposed to consider a full-communion plan with the United States Episcopal Church.

“We seek to draw closer in mission and ministry, grounded in sufficient agreement in the essentials of Christian faith and order and assisted by interchangeability of ordained ministries,” states the current text for “A Gift to the World: Co-Laborers for the Healing of Brokenness.”

This is not a merger proposal, but: “We see this relationship of full communion as a step on the journey. … We are blessed in that neither of our churches, or their predecessor bodies, have officially condemned one another, nor have they formally called into question the faith, the ministerial orders, or the sacraments of the other church.”

However, events in the United Methodist Church have given some members of that flock – especially LGBTQ clergy and laity – a strong incentive to go ahead and investigate nearby Episcopal parishes.
A special General Conference recently voted to reaffirm current doctrine that marriage is the “union of one man and one woman” and “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” The historic gathering also passed pieces of a “Traditionalist Plan” requiring UMC clergy to follow those laws in their Book of Discipline.

More here-

https://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/2019/03/21/on-religion-union-possible-on-episcopal-united-methodist-left/

Gay Methodist clergy in Colorado vow to remain “out and loud” after church strengthens LGBTQ restrictions

From Colorado-

After the vote came down Tuesday at the United Methodist Church’s general conference in St. Louis, Greenwood Village-based Bishop Karen Oliveto looked around the room.

She saw bishops crying. Consoling one another. Praying.

The denomination’s first openly gay bishop, Oliveto saw the realization ripple around the room: The church had just voted to strengthen its ban on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages.

“The church that has nurtured us, taught us about God’s grace and unconditional love, all of a sudden is narrowing who gets to experience that love,” Oliveto told The Denver Post on Thursday.

“That’s not been our tradition.”

More here-

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/01/colorado-gay-methodist-clergy-lgtbq-restrictions/

Bishop Will Willimon on why no plan can unite United Methodists

From RNS-

Will Willimon, a prominent theologian and a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church’s North Alabama Conference, has some choice words for a denomination in disarray over its views on sexuality.

Willimon, like other bishops, couldn’t vote on any of the plans presented this week at the special denominational session in St. Louis — one that would continue to restrict church leaders from ordaining or marrying LGBT people, and another that would allow local congregations to make their own decisions. Church rules don’t give bishops a voice or a vote. The session’s 864 delegates are made up of clergy and lay people from around the world.

But as a lifelong Methodist, he said, he saw an unmistakable change in the attitudes of the delegates at the special session in St. Louis. People on either side of the issue talked of breaking away from the 12 million-member global denomination. Willimon, who now teaches at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., left St. Louis on Tuesday (Feb. 26) before the final vote.

More here-

https://religionnews.com/2019/02/26/bishop-will-willimon-on-why-no-plan-can-unite-united-methodists/?fbclid=IwAR37URI_F__6R8ta0xCIJAAPmjXSR4YtTRRkIpLJ7uA5cantoWuw1WRQpsE

It’s Official: UMC Votes for Traditional Marriage, No Gay Clergy

From Church Leader-

In the final day of the United Methodist Church’s Special Session of the General Conference, the denomination voted to take an official stance on homosexuality. After decades of ambiguity, the UMC’s General Conference has voted to hold a traditional approach to marriage and ordaining clergy. 

Moving forward, the UMC will not allow same-sex weddings, nor will it ordain LGBTQ+ clergy.
“We do not want to force any church to leave the denomination,” Beth Ann Cook told a raucous crowd after the final vote was settled. 

Despite the bishops’ attempt to address the elephant in the room graciously, the backlash from those opposed to the Traditional Plan made it clear that this vote will cause many churches (particularly in the U.S.) and LGBTQ+ clergy members to leave the denomination.

While most delegates from the Central Conference of the UMC, which represents churches in Africa, Europe and Asia, rejoiced over the decision, the general feeling of the delegates from the U.S. was one of dismay. 

More here-

https://churchleaders.com/news/345143-united-methodist-church-homosexuality-its-official-umc-votes-for-traditional-marriage-no-gay-clergy.html?fbclid=IwAR3PJgFsp7RRZtp2ZgO2zDZSt2hIpOdOVEDpI-f2F7QkdMIe5cNzMxipYAk

United Methodist committee rejects One Church Plan, which would allow LGBT clergy

From Religous New Service-

In a surprise, the plan recommended by the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops was rejected Monday (Feb. 25) by the denomination’s decision-making body.

The so-called One Church Plan did not pass out of General Conference’s Legislative Committee to be considered by delegates Tuesday during the plenary session.

But that doesn’t mean the proposal is dead, according to supporters.

Reconciling Ministries Network, a movement advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church, tweeted after the vote that the rejected plan will “almost certainly still come up” as a minority report on Tuesday.

Neil Alexander — co-convener of Uniting Methodists, a group supporting the One Church Plan — confirmed a minority report including the plan has been filed in opposition to the Traditional Plan.

More here-

https://religionnews.com/2019/02/25/united-methodist-committee-rejects-one-church-plan-which-would-allow-lgbt-clergy/?fbclid=IwAR0hA3H6HMANEK5HCmXdlK0-aA8L9a-BPwzl4CAuT_nqdteqc0D7l9Z9QR0

and here-

https://apnews.com/91f0eff9b0c14e35a794101b3dc60166?fbclid=IwAR1cRYCUUazXFyCFMxr4keGOZrx3WUFOzjNxcHa7Vp6p18xqnhwbuV0rq1o

The United Methodist Church will vote on LGBT issues. The outcome could tear it apart

From USAToday-

One of the nation's largest religious denominations could be headed for a split this weekend.

"What the United Methodist church will look like in March will likely be very different than it is today," said the Rev. Ron Robinson, a chaplain and religion professor at Wofford College, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. "This has the most significant potential for major division out of anything in my lifetime."

When delegates meet in St. Louis this coming weekend for a special session of the General Conference, they will hold a critical vote on whether to ordain openly gay clergy and allow individual churches to conduct same-sex marriages. The outcome will likely reshape the denomination, and could potentially tear it apart.

More here-

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/21/united-methodist-church-could-split-lgbt-issues/2940322002/?fbclid=IwAR2d6vKXqBiDuumLN0K2jJb22r_6sQfIH3D-_tfyeMOUDWCkV9GfAQNbIqk

United Methodists confront possible split

From Youngstown-

The United Methodist Church’s top legislative assembly convenes Sunday for a high-stakes, three-day meeting likely to determine whether America’s second-largest Protestant denomination will fracture due to divisions over same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy.

While other mainline Protestant denominations – such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches – have embraced gay-friendly practices, the Methodist church still bans them, even though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied and talk of a possible breakup of the church has intensified.

At the church’s upcoming General Conference in St. Louis, 864 invited delegates – split evenly between lay people and clergy – are expected to consider several plans for the church’s future. Several Methodist leaders said they expect a wave of departures from the church regardless of the decision.

“I don’t think there’s any plan where there won’t be some division, and some people will leave,” said David Watson, a dean and professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton who will be attending the conference.

Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States. In size, it trails only the Southern Baptist Convention among U.S. Protestant denominations.

More here-

http://www.vindy.com/news/2019/feb/21/united-methodists-confront-possible-spli/

United Methodists, Episcopalians One Step Closer to 'Full Communion' With Each Other

From Christian Post-

The United Methodist Church and The Episcopal Church are one step closer to entering into an agreement in which they will be in full communion with each other.

At a multiday meeting held last week, the UMC Council of Bishops voted to approve the preparation of legislation to carry out the full communion proposal, titled "A Gift to the World: Co-Laborers for the Healing of Brokenness."

"In the fractured human community there is a great need for the realization of the unity among the followers of Christ Jesus," stated the Preamble.

"This proposal for full communion between The Episcopal Church and The United Methodist Church is an effort to bring our churches into closer partnership in the mission and witness to the love of God and thus labor together for the healing of divisions among Christians and for the well-being of all."

More here-

https://www.christianpost.com/news/united-methodists-episcopalians-closer-full-communion-with-each-other-228509/