What to know about the United Methodist Church breakup in NC and where it goes from here

The United Methodist Church has been divided over whether to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy since the denomination banned it in the Book of Discipline in 1972.

Some traditionalist members, frustrated with the leadership’s lack of commitment to the ban and to preventing the blessing of same-sex unions in the church, announced this year they would splinter off a new denomination, the more conservative Global Methodist Church. They invited like-minded United Methodist congregations to join them.

The process may vary slightly from one area to another across the country, but in North Carolina’s two United Methodist conferences — one in the eastern part of the state and one in the west — some churches have begun the work of disaffiliation. They plan to join the Global Methodist Church, some other denomination or to become non-denominational.

Last Saturday, the North Carolina Conference, which covers the eastern half of the state, approved the disaffiliation requests of about a third of its churches.

Here are answers to some common questions.

Was this split expected?

The United Methodist Church had anticipated the denomination would split over the issue of how to treat homosexuality, and in 2019 laid out rules for disaffiliation for reasons of conscience having to do with that issue.

While any United Methodist congregation could disaffiliate from the denomination at any time, doing so for this reason and under these rules allows congregations to keep their buildings and property, which otherwise would remain in trust held by the denomination.

What is the approach of the conference now to LGBTQ issues?

The United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline does not allow the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy members and does not sanction marriage except between one man and one woman. However, pastors in both United Methodist conferences in North Carolina have performed same-sex weddings.

Traditionalists in the church want the denomination’s leadership to follow the Book of Discipline, saying it reflects the will of God as described in the Bible. They want the denomination to take action against those who openly defy it.

Progressives in the church counter that the denomination must be more welcoming, following the teachings of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible.

How do those churches that disagree disaffiliate?

Under the rules, to disaffiliate, a congregation would have to hold a vote and get the approval of at least two-thirds of the church’s eligible members present for the vote, then get the request approved by their Conference.

Is there a deadline?

Under the 2019 rules, known as Paragraph 2553, congregations have until Dec. 31, 2023 to disaffiliate, which includes fulfilling financial obligations to the denomination.

But some will leave at the end of this year. In the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, which covers 56 counties in the eastern half of the state, churches had until Sept. 20 of this year to ask to disaffiliate if they wanted to leave the denomination on Dec. 31, 2022.

Do all churches take a vote?

No, not all churches will vote on whether to disaffiliate. A vote is held only if members ask for it. Churches that don’t take a vote remain in the conference as always.

So what happened last Saturday?

During a special meeting, the North Carolina Conference, representing Eastern North Carolina churches, approved in a single vote the disaffiliation requests of 249 of the Conference’s 779 churches. The vote to approve the requests was not unanimous.

What if an individual church’s members disagree with its decision on disaffiliation or staying?

The vote to disaffiliate also was not unanimous in most of the congregations that asked to leave. The N.C. Conference anticipates there will be movement of members from those churches, whether because they wanted the congregation to disaffiliate and it didn’t, or because they didn’t want the congregation to disaffiliate and it asked to do so.

The N.C. Conference has said it plans to help members who want to stay within the United Methodist Church to find a new church home if their congregation is disaffiliating. That may include the Conference helping to start new United Methodist churches. A gathering is planned for Dec. 4 to discuss options.

What are Triangle Methodist churches doing?

Three churches in Raleigh — Asbury, Hollands and Layden Memorial — along with Mt. Zion in Garner have been approved to disaffiliate. In Chapel Hill, Orange Chapel will disaffiliate.

In Johnston County, Elevation, Benson, Buckhorn, Corinth and Kenly are leaving. Oak Grove and Concord in Roxboro are disaffiliating, as are Hickory Mountain and Sapling Ridge in Pittsboro.

A full list of churches approved to leave the North Carolina Conference can be found at https://nccumc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ncc-scac22-trustees-report.pdf.

Might there be more?

The N.C. Conference expects additional churches to request disaffiliation in 2023, but it’s not known yet how many.

What about Methodist churches in the western part of the state?

In the Western North Carolina Conference, which has 956 churches, congregations’ requests to disaffiliate will be voted on individually, a different process from the N.C. Conference. Since 2020, the Western Conference has approved the disaffiliation requests of 41 churches.

Thirty-eight churches in the Western Conference filed a lawsuit Nov. 10 demanding to be allowed to disaffiliate immediately, without going through the requirements set out in 2019 by the denomination’s leaders. The Conference is expected to respond to the suit in late November.

Additional disaffiliations are expected in the Western Conference. Those would need to be approved at the June 2023 scheduled meeting of the Conference, or at a specially called meeting.

What is the Global Methodist Church?

Most churches disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church are expected to join the newly created Global Methodist Church. In its Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, the new denomination defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and says that clergy people can be charged and tried for sexual offenses that include sexual abuse or misconduct, infidelity, the possession of pornography, or engaging in sexual activities outside the bonds of a loving and monogamous marriage between one man and one woman.

What’s next for the United Methodist Church?

The United Methodist Church still must deal with the language in the Book of Discipline that refers to homosexuality. The governing body is supposed to consider the language at its meeting in 2024.