Sept. 24, 2018
African Bishops
Bishop Eben Nhiwatwa of Zimbabwe (center) holds a meeting of African bishops following the April 26, 2012 "passing of the gavel ceremony" in Tampa, Fla., in this file photo from the 2012 General Conference. (A 2012 file photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS).
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Bishops in Africa have resolved not to support any proposed legislation that calls for splitting The United Methodist Church over the issue of human sexuality, according to a statement released on Monday, Sept. 24, 2018.
“We do not support any legislation that calls for the dissolution of The United Methodist Church. We uphold our values as a connectional and worldwide church committed to ‘Making disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world’,” the bishops said.
In the statement released by Africa College of Bishops President Bishop John K. Yambasu, the African bishops further resolved to support and pray for the work of the Commission on a Way Forward as the denomination prepares for the Special Session of The United Methodist Church next year in St. Louis, Mo. scheduled Feb. 23-26, 2019.
“We commend the work of the Commission on a Way Forward and we commit ourselves to be in continued prayer and fasting for God’s guidance for our denomination as we go to St, Louis, Missouri, for the Special Call 2019 General Conference to receive and take action on the work of the Commission on a Way Forward,” the statement said.
The Africa College of Bishops met in Sierra Leone, Sept 3-7. The full statement from the African bishops is available online.
American reactions
In the United States, observers saw the statement as a rebuke to leaders of traditionalist movements who have publicly proposed schism and to those who have proposed "a gracious exit" for dissenting conferences and congregations.
Two traditionalist leaders, the Rev. Keith Boyette and the Rev. Maxie Dunnam, told United Methodist News Service recently that each has introduced a petition proposing to dissolve The United Methodist Church in the event that anything other than the Traditionalist model is adopted by the special 2019 General Conference. Rev. Boyette is president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and Rev. Dunnam is a co-founder of the Confessing Movement.
In addition, an ad hoc group of West Ohio clergy and laity calling itself United Methodists for a Gracious Exit unveiled an online petition recently supporting the addition of a penalty-free departure from the denomination to any legislation passed in February. The "gracious exit" concept goes back as far as the 2012 General Conference when a proposal to change the UMC stance on homosexuality co-sponsored by the Revs. Adam Hamilton and Mike Slaughter included an option for those who disagreed to leave the church with their property. Under current United Methodist polity, congregations who dissent from church-wide rules may leave the denomination but without their property, which is held in trust for their annual conferences.
While the Africa College of Bishops also adopted a statement endorsing current United Methodist stances on homosexuality and heterosexual marriage, the stance against breaking up the denomination caused some delegates to wonder if American traditionalists were losing influence over African delegations. Recent commentaries by expatriate African clergy criticized American traditionalists of "neo-colonialism" for making personal trips to Africa to oppose the One Church model endorsed by the Council of Bishops. Some United Methodists still residing in African countries repudiated the "neo-colonialist" allegations.
Nonetheless, some delegates point to historic votes in annual conferences on church-wide matters such as constitutional amendments that they say have shown that African bishops hold stronger political influence over their delegations than American bishops hold over U.S. delegations. These stronger influences were attributed to cultural differences regarding the roles of church executives.
United Methodist Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle contributed to this report.