We were not able to obtain copies of the two documents until after the Disaffiliation Conference. February 9, 2022 5:32 PM Expand Disaffiliation clarified The United Methodist Judicial Council has released six decisions dealing with Paragraph 2553, a new church law that allows congregations to leave with property under limited conditions. Its a conflict going on in all organized religions. The reason given for the removal was disloyalty to the UMC. Greg West rejected this claim arguing that he is and has been loyal to the UMC during his twenty-four years of service. A 'scripturally based disagreement' Zion UMC, Three Notchd District ($70,946.00 disaffiliation amount), Trinity UMC (Christiansburg), Valley Ridge District ($26,665.00 disaffiliation amount), Wesley Memorial UMC, Valley Ridge District ($57,991.00 disaffiliation amount), The Minutes of the conference sessions will be shared when they are available from the conference Minutes Committee. When you sacrifice, when you are generous, The Lord sees it and you are blessed. Im sure the land and building are worth in the millions of dollars. This decision was made based on many factors including the backlog for visas and passports for brothers and sisters from other countries that would prevent them from obtaining the necessary documentation to travel to the United States. We were told that the reason for this change was that we did not use the statement from the Conference Attorney in our announcements. Those (unnamed) folks who originally donated the land got a nice inflated tax deduction along with letting everyone know what great generous people they are. The next motion was to separate New Town UMC from the other thirty-three churches that were seeking to disaffiliate. Disaffiliation is not a matter of right. Communications, Bishop Chuck Griffin is asked about the split of 264 churches in Southwest Virginia, Northeast Tennessee and North Georgia from the United Methodist Church, he often compares it to a painful divorce thats been a long time coming. During this challenging time with the postponement of the 2020 General Conference to 2024 and the launch of the Global Methodist Church on May 1, 2022, some churches have discerned to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church. Youre really on to something here. His church, which has about 40 members, also disaffiliated and is going with the Wesleyan Church, a Methodist denomination founded in 1843. A livestream recording of the conference may be found, Virginia United Methodist Center Offices and Staff, Pictorial Directory of the United Methodist Center Staff, Map of Churches in the Virginia Conference, A Message from our Virginia Conference Lay Leader, Martha Stokes. Griffin said he expects the transition to be smooth for those who work for the churches because the GMC has a pension plan managed by the same company that handles the UMCs plan and theres a health plan in place, so its just a matter of getting them moved over. After a time of discussion and speeches for and against the ratification of New Town UMC from The United Methodist Church, the Rev. I hope they fight the good fight. Here's why. But the conflicts came to a head in 2019, when the UMC held a special General Conference, where the business of the church is conducted, to settle the issue, according to Griffin. Copyright Meant to be a denomination where theologically conservative United Methodists can join to leave their church's seemingly endless debate over LGBT issues, the GMC is scheduled to . The goal is for us to serve our neighbors and to help each other out. We declared to the Conference that what was happening was unjust. I wish I could tell you what I really think of your post but they couldnt print it. Institute on Religion and Democracy1023 15th Street NW, Suite 200Washington, DC 20005Contact us | Media requests. The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a mainline Protestant denomination that has been experiencing a decline in membership and disaffiliation in recent years. The Bishop and the Conference Attorney allowed the Conference to believe that they can and should take into account the land, the monetary value of the land, the missional value of the land, as well as the donors of the land as they were considering their votes. The decision of some traditionalist congregations to separate from the denomination was triggered by long conflict over issues around human sexuality and other matters, states a news release issued by the Holston Conference after the vote. Pastor Sandy Whittaker, who joined the GMC before her church disaffiliated from the UMC, said the issues surrounding same-sex marriages and LGBTQ+ pastors were factors for her parishioners, but they saw that as a presenting symptom of a larger issue.. That building was a blessing then, and is still a blessing, as the North American Headquarters for GBGM. There was already talk of disaffiliating when he arrived. We wanted to communicate clearly with this family our reasons for pursuing disaffiliation, to prevent any misunderstanding. It has sent out six Pastors into ministry in the Virginia Conference. All of these ministries have been disrupted. Receive regular conference updates by email. The Minutes of the conference sessions will be shared when they are available from the conference Minutes Committee. So we did not feel free to respond to the familys campaign against our disaffiliation with information for the delegates supporting our side of the issue. The bishop knows that those who built this church with their tithes and offerings will not be mailing her an apportionment check anymore so she wants what she can get now. Burke said he believes that although Global is just a year old, it will be more like the Methodist Church he joined 30 years ago. Pretty simple. Over the years has the congregation grown or gotten smaller? The Commission on the General Conference announced on March 3, 2022 that the 2022 General Conference session, postponed from 2020, would be further postponed until 2024. Comment by John Smith on April 5, 2023 at 7:21 am. Disaffiliations approved by annual conferences The chart below shows UM News' count of how many church disaffiliations have been approved by annual conferences. Seems to me that the Church at New Town made the smart choice. The bishops are asking for an expedited ruling so that there is consistency among the annual conferences and to avoid action by individual annual conferences that may violate the Discipline. New Town cares for many poor and needy in the local community and supports many many missions and missionaries. This by Brenda Capen | Oct 3, 2022 | AC 2022 October, General Conference. If a piece of land is that important to you at least dont do harm to the ministry, work with the congregation to protect the work and missions they are doing and give them some time to process what just happened and to be loving about it. Two days after meeting with the Bishop, Greg West received an email with an attached letter from the chair of the Board of Discipleship of the Virginia Conference, with the following statement: After reaching out to your District Superintendent we received a response from the Cabinet notifying us that the Cabinet decided not to write an endorsement to recommend you as the Virginia Conference General Evangelist. Why would a congregation so small choose to spend so much of the churchs funds on a BUILDING? 2553 specifically states that you can take the property with you. Comment by Gary Bebop on April 2, 2023 at 12:39 pm. Just how committed to the rule of law and connection all ministries are we? We have great concern that other congregations and Pastors seeking disaffiliation in the Virginia Conference and beyond will be treated in the same way. The other thirty-three churches were voted on as a group and within minutes they were all allowed to disaffiliate. Dont miss out on all the best our region has to offer. They will be posted on the conference website at www.vaumc.org/ac2023feb and also shared on ClergyNet and LaityNet. These church BUILDINGS were where the church family met every Sunday. Just walk away. United Methodist Foundation Matthew Gabriel, a professor and chair of the Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech, said there is a tendency among American congregations these days to want to move away from larger, bureaucratic church organizations. The ratification of disaffiliation by the annual conference IS a required component of the allowance to disaffiliate, as determined by the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church, which is the churchs court and disciplinary interpretation body. She has been a newspaper journalist in Southwest Virginia But we believe this is the path we need to be on., Susan Cameron is a reporter for Cardinal News. Learn more, FAQ #5 Is the UMC really asking local churches to vote on whether to remain in The United Methodist Church or join the Global Methodist Church? It is in the Book of Discipline. This reporting guide contains the names and disaffiliation metrics of local church that are seeking to disaffiliate from the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church on February 18, 2023, as well as the agenda for the Special Annual Conference and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on disaffiliation. More by Susan Cameron. They should Be tickled to death because of the money they will save. Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson ended the session with a prayer. All you need to do is a google search and see. New Town UMC was fully prepared to participate in the October 29, 2022 Disaffiliation Conference and followed the steps outlined by the Virginia Annual Conference. What steps were made to grow the congregation? The land was a gift to the Virginia Conference of the UMC. They skipped their weekly date for 1 year to donate for the new building. The theme for our session is Building Bridges: Making Connections. 2. Comment by Anthony on March 31, 2023 at 4:14 pm. While all elements of whether or not this is fair, just, ethical, or right are up for debate, the details above are the fact and rule of law within the church denomination, so those particular items should not be in question. When you sign on to be a Methodist, you know full well that the property belongs to the conference. We, as a congregation, looked with hope to the upcoming summer 2022 General Conference to pass the Protocol of Grace and Reconciliation through Separation. I mean, if 125 people can pay for a $4 million dollar building, certainly 151 people can pay to rent a space for less money and continue the ministries, right? Pastor Garry Livermon, an Elder in the UMC, was serving as the Pastor of New Town UMC in 2021, but health issues prevented him from continuing to serve. Find resources below. I pray the new church has MORE money for ministries since its no longer paying for the old building. Comment by George on April 5, 2023 at 3:46 pm. The goal of liberal theology is to destroy Christianity. Tim Jones, who is communications director for the Holston Conference of the UMC, said in response: There are people in other conferences that have gone against the Book of Discipline. So we again proceeded in good faith for the February 18, 2023 Disaffiliation Conference. Our call now is to return our focus to the ministries God has given us as we seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.. There are three retired United Methodist Elders in this family. Will the new standard in the Virginia Conference be removal from appointments and extension ministries with no consultation? 3. There is so much more to this story. Comment by Eric on April 1, 2023 at 11:54 pm. And I havent seen a rebuttal of the above letter to the UMC. We all must model the reconciliation that Christ died to make possible. Some delegates from other countries are not as blessed as people in the United States with available vaccines for COVID-19. In an email sent out Dec. 28, 2022, North Georgia Conference leaders announced they were pausing for now approving anymore disaffiliations. Ending memberships of those whose local church disaffiliates? Fred Rojek and Greg West appealed to the Bishop to leave the Pastoral appointment in place until the end of June, the normal time to move Pastors. Request to Advertise Event with Conference, Virginia Conference The United Methodist Church, Disaffiliation in The United Methodist Church: What you need to know, Resources Addressing Disaffiliation Misinformation. (Commission on Religion and Race), COSROW (Commission on the Status and Role of Women), Burlington United Methodist Family Services, Ebenezer Community Outreach Center Huntington, Heart+Hand Outreach Ministries South Charleston, Tyrand Cooperative Ministries Mill Creek, Policies and Guidelines related to Ministry, 2023 Local Church Breakdown of Ministry Support, Planning and Preparedness: Best Practices for Local Churches. This is information that will need to be clarified for all annual conferences and jurisdictions in the denomination. The 2019 General by Madeline White | Jul 11, 2022 | General Conference, Team Jeremiah. Virginia traditional Methodists WATCH YOUR BACK. This is information that will have to be further clarified. Given that votes must be taken at annual conferences, local churches that want to disaffiliate will need to start the process this year (2022), and meet the 2023 annual conference deadlines. Comment by David on March 31, 2023 at 2:30 pm. And on May 27, another 249 congregations in North Carolina voted to disaffiliate, and more are expected to do the same as congregations try to get out before the Dec. 31 deadline. The leadership and people of New Town UMC pursued disaffiliation in good faith and now are experiencing the pain and repercussions of what we believe is clearly unfair treatment.
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