GC2019 Scene
All levels of The United Methodist Church are now debating the future of the denomination and its top governing body, the General Conference. (Photo by Kathleen Barry/UMNS)
UPDATED JULY 25
After a wave of refusals and denunciations of the Traditional Plan during annual conference season coupled with the withholding of "fair-share" funding for church-wide ministries, United Methodists are now discussing what was once the elephant in the parlor: whether the denomination should divide or dissolve.
On the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s website, the Rev. Joseph F. DiPaolo of Eastern Pennsylvania Conference writes in a July 19 post, “Minneapolis Calmly Considered,” that the denomination may be facing a “Gamaliel moment,” referring to the wise elder chronicled in Acts 5 who counseled Jewish leaders not to persecute new Christians.
Rev. DiPaolo gives this rationale: “Though it grieves me to suggest this, it is time to formulate an orderly, amicable and just plan of separation. Such a plan should allow for persons and congregations to follow their convictions, while also providing for ongoing support for those areas of common responsibility which will remain – like social service and relief ministries, pension obligations, and care of historic sites and archives.
“I have long resisted calls to leave The United Methodist Church or see it divide. … But I have come to the reluctant conclusion that we are now headed irrevocably toward a church split. History shows us that such divisions typically are marked by rancor, costly lawsuits, the collapse of cooperative ministries, and deeply damaged relationships."
The Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell of Asbury Park, N.J., a retired clergy member of the former Rocky Mountain (now Mountain Sky) conference and a longtime civil rights leader, comes down on the opposite side of the question.
In a reflection he calls “A Gil Caldwell Thinking Out Loud Epistle, emailed to colleagues and friends, Rev. Caldwell writes of The United Methodist Church’s historic – and ongoing – struggle with institutional racism as a prime reason not to divide the denomination.
He cites Hebrews 11:1 as his text: “Faith is the substance/assurance/confidence in what we hope for and assurance in what we do not see (a merging of translations)." He writes:
“Hebrews 11: 1 has been a 'Text' for Blacks in the Methodist/United Methodist Church: 'FAITH' in 'what we do not (yet) see.' Our foremothers/fathers, despite their voting against the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction, 'stayed' because they knew the 'God of our weary years and silent tears' would not embrace a racially segregated Methodist Church. And many of us do not believe God Would embrace a Church that singles out, 'the practice of homosexuality' as rationale for separation. Some said the same about slavery, segregation, and denial of the ordination of women. Today’s United Methodist Church says in word and deed, they were wrong!
“This is a Central Jurisdiction 'moment' in the UMC. In 1939, not all of the Black Churches were placed in the CJ. Amidst the rigid Methodist racial segregation of the south, there was a regional embrace of Black Churches elsewhere. Rescinding our 'anti-practice of homosexuality' and charging/expelling legislation in 2020, will enable us to allow FAITH to shape our UMC future. I believe if ‘We let go, and let God,’ our exclusion would become inclusion,”
What conversations about a potential division of The United Methodist Church are going on in your area? Send us examples.
Media Mentions as of July 25, 2019
LGBTQ-friendly church in Battle Ground targeted by vandals – KGW.com
Traverse City Church Votes to Welcome LGBTQ Community – 9&10 News
Battle Ground Community United Methodist Church defies recent attacks – The Columbian
TC Methodist church pursues LGBTQ inclusion – Interlochen
Methodists in Africa, UK, US dispute same-sex marriage – Erasing 76 Crimes
Holland area churches reckon with LGBTQ inclusion – WZZM13.com
'Progressions' in LGBTQ acceptance in Kitsap celebrated at Pride – Kitsap Sun