An Open Letter to the Wesleyan Covenant Association

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UPDATED March 20, 2024 by the author

Dear WCA brothers and sisters who did not leave the UMC,

Grace and peace. All of us who are United Methodists have a common baseline. Each of us made a sacred vow of membership: we would be loyal to the UMC and support it by our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. We made that vow voluntarily. And every time others joined our churches, we renewed that vow. It is the foundation of our congregations.

Any time any of us can no longer fulfill this vow of loyalty and support, we are welcome to leave. No strings attached. No questions asked. No drama. Just blessing and good wishes.

For everyone who stays, the common commitment applies to us all: loyalty to the UMC and support. It is the sacred promise we all made.

Everyone who stays is welcome. Our baseline covenant is that, in the UMC, we highly prize our sacred pledges to God and to each other.

If you are a WCA member or group that stayed to convince your church (or other UM churches) to leave the denomination, you are not being loyal as you promised. When you undermine the UMC by staying to criticize, plant distrust, magnify the shortcomings of others, spread exaggerations, distortions or mislead others, I am sure you already (at some level) know you are violating your sacred promise to support.

If you are a WCA pastor, in addition to membership vows, you have made a number of other sacred promises to God and the church in your ordination vows. You promised God—and all of us—that you had studied UM doctrine and polity. You publicly affirmed you agreed with UM principles and organization. You promised you would exemplify and practice the UM way of life in your preaching, teaching and leadership you promised another level of faithfulness. And, having studied our ways, you already know that if—for any reason—you are no longer able to fulfill your sacred vow, it is easy to leave the UM ministry. Turning in your credentials (which you received based on your ordination pledge) is a simple process. No strings. No questions. No drama. Just blessings and good wishes.

For those of you who continue to serve a United Methodist Church and undermine the denomination with people the UMC has entrusted to your spiritual care, you are blatantly violating your ordination vows and betraying the trust given to you.

You are welcome to leave the UM ministry if conscience so leads you. Any time. But leading people away from the denomination that placed you as a pastor to UM people is a betrayal of your promises to God, to the UMC and to the Annual Conference that ordained you.

Let’s be clear: I do not write this so that you (or anyone lay or clergy) will leave if they have not left already.

I write this so that you will have integrity.

Staying in a church to tear it down has no integrity

And those who don’t have integrity forfeit everything. With great sadness, I note the irony that the group that chose “Wesleyan Covenant” as a name has turned out to exemplify the opposite of the ways and teaching of John Wesley and became an aggressive adversary of covenant/sacred promise keeping.

For WCA members/groups that stayed in the UMC, you are welcome. The sacred vows you have made to the UMC should be your guiding principles in all you say and do. We will bless you and grow from every positive contribution you make. If you are unable or unwilling—for any reason—to be loyal and supportive to the UMC as you promised, I pray you will have the integrity to follow your convictions to a spiritual home that is a better fit for you. There is no integrity in tearing down the Body of Christ. There are —and always have been—gracious exits in the UMC to help people maintain their conscience and integrity.

For many years, I have heard conservative brothers and sisters say they have to leave the UMC because they are tired of a fight that, seemingly, never ends. On the UMC side, I assure you that the cessation of hostilities is a goal we highly prize and desire. This is our chance for that to be a reality. WCA friends in the UMC, I beg you to be at peace with us or leave in peace. In either case, I pray for the peace of Christ to be with you and guide all that unfolds.

The Rev. Dr. Mary John Dye is a retired clergy member of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. For the past few years she has served as interim pastor for churches facing disaffiliation votes. Please email Insight for permission to republish this content elsewhere.