A fourth Maine congregation has joined three others in voting to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church as a result of the tightened restrictions against same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ clergy voted in by the special called 2019 General Conference.
According to a report from the Portland Press Herald:
"Members of HopeGateWay voted overwhelmingly on March 28 to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, joining three other local congregations that have taken the same step. They are among the first half-dozen or so congregations in the country to go through a long, and at times emotional, process to break away from the denomination and denounce policies that had grown more conservative in recent years.
"Brackett Memorial United Methodist Church, now known as New Brackett Church, on Peaks Island was the first congregation in Maine and the second in the country to take the step when its members voted unanimously last August to leave the United Methodist Church. Chebeague Island UMC and Tuttle Road UMC in Cumberland voted in February and March in favor of disaffiliation.
"...In 2019, the four congregations were among nearly a dozen across New England that announced the start of a process of discernment, indicating that their understanding of human sexuality and God’s inclusive love is in direct and potentially irreconcilable conflict with the policies and practices of the United Methodist Church."
The four Maine congregations join several others across the United States that have decided to disaffiliate now rather than wait for the next session of the General Conference, when it is expected that a decision on whether and how to split the denomination will be made. Among the more prominent congregations that have disaffiliated thus far are Grandview Church in Lancaster, Pa., and Asbury Church in Savannah, Ga.
Scheduled originally for 2020, General Conference has been delayed twice because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. General Conference sessions typically draw 3,000-plus delegates and observers for 10 days of meetings in a single location. Pandemic restrictions on the size of in-person gatherings, obstacles to international travel, and concern about infection have led General Conference organizers to postpone the session.