Any exodus from the worldwide United Methodist Church seems likely to have to wait until spring 2020 at the earliest, and it's throwing annual conferences into murky disarray.
The United Methodist Judicial Council has deferred a decision on the validity of the "disaffiliation" provisions enacted by the 2019 special called General Conference until its spring session, which will happen just days before the 2020 General Conference May 5-15 in Minneapolis, Minn.
A recent email from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference summed up the problem caused by the "high court's" delay:
"The trustees of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference are working to establish the procedures that will be necessary to comply with the new disaffiliation provisions in the Book of Discipline passed at the 2019 Special General Conference (Paragraph 2553). We are prayerfully engaging in this process. We expect the policies and procedures to be in place following the final decision by the Judicial Council of the validity of the new disaffiliation provisions. We thank you for your prayers and patience as we seek to go faithfully about our work."
Trustees in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference issued a similar statement:
"The Trustees of the Baltimore-Washington Conference commenced their work on developing disaffiliation procedures this past summer, but suspended that work in mid-August as a result of the Commission on the General Conference's announcement, on August 20, 2019, that a preliminary vote that led to the enactment of ¶ 2553 was void based on voting irregularities. Specifically, the Commission determined that persons who lacked proper credentials were among those that voted. In light of that ruling, the trustees of the Baltimore-Washington Conference concluded that their authority to develop disaffiliation procedures had been nullified. In addition, the trustees were mindful that the disaffiliation landscape would be subject to further change, given that the Judicial Council was expected to making their ruling on the voting irregularity issue during its Fall Session, and because the 2020 General Conference would undoubtedly be presented with multiple, distinct legislative petitions concerning congregational disaffiliation.
"Although the Judicial Council completed its Fall Session earlier this month, the validity of ¶ 2553 remains too uncertain to allow the Conference trustees to complete their work on disaffiliation procedures. In fact, on November 1, 2019, the Judicial Council announced in Decision No. 1386 that it was rescheduling the case involving voting irregularities for resolution during the Council's Spring Session, which convenes on April 29, 2020, in Minneapolis, just before the start of the 2020 General Conference.
"Since there has been no material change in the status quo, the Conference's Board of Trustees has reaffirmed its decision to defer the establishment of disaffiliation procedures for use in the Baltimore-Washington Conference. We do not expect to complete our work on that front until late May 2020 at the earliest, after the Judicial Council issues a definitive ruling and the General Conference completes its work in Minneapolis."
Let's not overlook a key political factor in the Judicial Council's delay: by deferring a decision on disaffiliation's validity until spring, it becomes harder for local congregations to leave and take their property with them before the 2020 General Conference.
Churches struggling over withholding apportionments
The drop in apportionment payments from local congregations isn't as cut-and-dried as it may seem from the top, despite the recent report to the General Council on Finance and Administration.
In reality, faithful United Methodist leaders are agonizing over whether to express their rejection of tightened restrictions on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages by holding back their "fair share" contributions for ministry beyond the local church.
The options for many local churches appear to be three:
- Withhold 100 percent of their apportionments, thereby causing revenue deficits at annual conference and denomination-wide levels;
- Withhold a calculated portion of "fair share" contributions that pay for five denominational funds: World Service, Episcopal, Interdenominational Cooperation, Black College and Africa University;
- Pay 100 percent of their apportionments.
Option 1, withholding 100 percent by keeping the amount in escrow, appeals to many who are refuse any long to support financially a denomination that denies LGBTQ persons the equivalent of "full citizenship" in the church. Proponents of this option frequently cite the first rule of Methodism contained in the Book of Discipline: Do no harm.
Option 2, withholding denominational portions, represents a kind of "line item veto" that really isn't allowed according to the Discipline. Nonetheless, those who want to escrow their denominational contributions say they want their local leadership to understand their argument is with the global denomination.
Option 3, paying 100 percent of apportionments, is the intention for every church. Annual conferences sometimes translate the term "apportionment" into a kind of slogan, "a portion meant for ministries beyond the local church." The "fair share" contributions represent the financial idea of the United Methodist connection, namely that we can do more good for the world together than we can individually.
However, even longtime United Methodists – including those whose family histories in Methodism stretch back several generations – are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with an anti-LGBTQ stance that causes pain to their fellow church members. Thus, causing a "pinch in the pocketbook" is the only way for rank-and-file United Methodists to expression their disagreement with church policy.
Are regional conferences the way forward?
Political straws in the wind at the end of 2019 are beginning to blow toward a structural alternative that might keep the denomination together: the idea of regional conferences, not just for the United States, but for all parts of the denomination.
This concept originally was proposed for the United States only by the Connectional Table, the UMC's coordinating council. In recent weeks, however, the idea has gained considerable traction from those areas beyond the United States now known as Central Conferences. Among the rationales being discussed:
- Creating regional conferences will allow all parts of the denomination to decide the rules for ministry and mission in their respective cultural contexts.
- Regional conference governance would shift U.S.-centric matters – which now comprise 80 to 90 percent of General Conference deliberations – off the denominational agenda.
- Areas now known as Central Conferences would gain stature by being on an equal structural footing with the United States, instead of being seen as appendages to the U.S. church that can be easily manipulated politically.
- Regional conferences would also equalize the financial burden on the global denomination, since each region would be responsible for funding its own ministries, including bishops.
Church leaders in the Philippines, Europe, Eurasia and Africa all have publicly endorsed the regional conference proposal. It would take time, money and effort to enact the proposal, since it would involve several constitutional amendments and enacting such amendments is a tortuous process. However, if coupled with the removal of anti-LGBTQ language from a global Book of Discipline, the concept could gain considerable U.S. support at the 2020 General Conference. This one-two punch may be more achievable than it might seem, because leaders outside the United States, particularly in Africa, have grown wary of U.S. lobbying to maintain the status quo.
In other words, keep an eye on this proposal as it moves through the legislative process.
Media mentions as of Dec. 9, 2019
Colorado Methodists See A Split On The Horizon After The Church's Vote To Ban Same-Sex ... – Colorado Public Radio
PFLAG Cleveland awards Baldwin Wallace University for LGBTQ Activism – WKYC.com
After Being Denied Communion, Lesbian Judge Welcomed by Other Church Advocate.com
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.