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Your awareness of the contents of the following documents may be critical in being an advocate for a fair process during the Discernment Process and any effort to stay United Methodist: Newly added par. We understand that it is possible, however, that we will be reassigned our present bishop due to the present situation in the UMC, in these unusual circumstances. Waiting to disaffiliate could either provide better terms or prevent the possibility of an exit altogether. Another option is for the youth to sit with a sensitive adult who will help to explain to the youth the conversation and questions. A vote to disaffiliate is a vote to leave relationships with other people and institutions that have helped congregation members grow in Christ over the years. READ: Are Charismatic Churches Biblical A The Disaffiliation Plan, found in 2553 of The Book of Discipline, provides a procedure for local churches to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church for "reasons of conscience" surrounding the denomination's position on human sexuality issues. The South Georgia Conference has done so as a means to allow more time for disaffiliations to take place after the December 31, 2023 expiration date of the provisions of 2553. You can learn more about the NAC3 team and plan here: https://www.umcna.org/postdetail/16513389 and watch their video below: We have documented many of our concerns with disaffiliation and joining the Global Methodist Church on our What are the Big Concerns page of our website. It is likely we will receive word regarding who will serve as our next bishop. Lets take a look at two examples: Can our congregation receive a term sheet prior to the church council vote to engage in the discernment process?The disaffiliation passage in The Book of Discipline is a result of the current deep conflict within The United Methodist Church around issues of human sexuality. The Disaffiliation Policy approved at the 2019 Annual Conference Session sets out a framework to be followed when a significant number of members of a congregation express a desire to leave the South Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 2553 of The Book of Discipline of The United . It will never be the same. Nor does it allow local congregations, by themselves, to transfer their property to other denominations. The Guides will assist each congregation in discerning its future, not the desires of the Guide, GNJ or the UMC. Due diligence in all land transfers requires an accurate accounting of values of all properties, particularly if any costs of the transfer arerelated to the property itself. Spiritual discernment is setting oneself or the community apart for a time of deep listening for the Holy Spirits wisdom, insight and calling. We will continue to update this page with additional resources as they are made available. They are designed to ensure your congregations decision process is well-informed, healthy, and in keeping with all of the requirements set forth by the Book of Discipline and your annual conference. The disaffiliation will be complete by December 31, 2022. However, the pastor is the administrative officer of the church and, therefore, is an ex officio member of most committees of the local church. This decline is due to a number of factors, including an aging population and a lack of younger members. A commitment has been made by this team to honor and respect differing theological convictions of congregations and pastors in the continuing United Methodist Church, including in the appointment process. The deadline for your church to be on the agenda for this called annual conference is December 1, and all financial payments must be submitted to the Conference Trustees and the treasurer by December 1. The Woodlands United Methodist and Faithbridge, two large traditional churches near Houston, both voted Aug. 7 for disaffiliation, while a third large church, Wildwood, adopted a resolution to stay in the denomination. UMF is a stand-alone corporation with the ability to manage funds for any church organization even those that disaffiliate from the United Methodist denomination. The committees role includes recommending compensation and benefits, conferring on ministry effectiveness, health and well-being and annually evaluating the pastor. Still, it is an outcome that can easily be avoided. Key Resources Book of Discipline paragraph 2553 Why arent superintendents leading the disaffiliation and covenanting process? About Us.. General Conference could also fail to produce any exit or extend the expiration of par. Votes about disaffiliation are never simply rational or financial. What is the Term Sheet? A Term Sheet, which is developed by the GNJ Board of Trustees, is an agreement of the basic terms and conditions of the disaffiliation. The Global Methodist Churchs Convening General Conference to be held between May 1, 2023 and November 1, 2023 based on this announcement. In some cases, churches have been forced to merge or close due to financial constraints. But do the numbers match the rhetoric? In other denominations, such votes have resulted in people leaving the church. However, there are also disaffiliated churches in other regions, including the Northeast and West. The United Methodist Book of Discipline outlines the process congregations may use to leave The United Methodist Church through disaffiliation (2553). Pastor: Dr. Jim Dean: cell: 828-508-0035 / email: jedean619 . Any outstanding loans as identified by GNJ Loan Board; CFA or the GNJ Board of Trustees. How were the terms determined? Waiting until the next General Conference could offer a less expensive option for churches to exit the UMC. Question about A Missional Transitional Support that will be assessed by multiplying the three-year average of the total amount of all cash, bank balances, investments, endowments, and reserves by the percent of the votes against disaffiliation during the Church conference vote.. Can they vote when voting on the discernment process? There are a variety of ways to make decisions. Isnt fair that a portion of their tithing be used to support this cost, or should we increase Shared Ministry apportionments or draw from GNJ designated funds to cover this cost? Yes. If two-thirds of those members choose to leave GNJ, the remaining one-third will need to support to establish new or fund existing ministries for these members to join. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. For those laity and pastors in churches who wish to stay United Methodist and find themselves among those churches where disaffiliation is a live possibility, it can be a demoralizing experience. Like many mainline denominations, the UMC has seen a steady decline in attendance and membership in recent decades. (919) 836-0029 - Fax (919) 836-0092. A bishop has only one vote on the matter. There are a number of reasons why churches may choose to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. Video here (starts at 40 minutes into presentation): https://vimeo.com/722681837#t=40m. Pastors and congregation leaders should start with a conversation with their District Superintendent who can help find the best option to accomplish the congregation's goal. Recently, the North Carolina Annual Conference published the process for clergy and churches to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. the Book of Disciplines new Paragraph 2553, The United Methodist Churchs centuries-old trust clause, Church court clarifies disaffiliation rules. How do you feel about local ghost stories and legends? If this is not the case, please explain it better in the FAQ. Are all congregations expected to go through the disaffiliation discernment process? Has the United Methodist Church changed or abandoned its beliefs that are now outlined in our Articles of Religion, specifically, the resurrection, and the Trinity? The Called Annual Conference in North Alabama for Disaffiliations is December 10, 2022, at 10 am. Any professing member who has not voluntarily asked to be removed from the roles or was not removed by the 2021 charge or church conference is entitled to participate and vote. We recommend the following engagement strategies when/if this happens: Ask those who assert such things for specific examples in the North Alabama Conference of such things. Still have questions? On April 16, 2021, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church affirmed the constitutionality of this paragraph, paving the way for annual conferences to implement processes for disaffiliation. Many WCA/GMC leaders are sharing talking points designed to portray the remaining UMC as engaging in theological drift by abandoning Biblical authority, questioning the resurrection of Jesus Christ, forsaking our doctrinal standards, promoting an open canon, and other similar things. Exigent circumstances include, but are not limited to, situations where the property will no longer be used for the purposes of The United Methodist Church or the congregation is no longer in a position to maintain it for the denomination. Annual conferences cannot create comity agreements with other denominations. That covenant outlines outlines how to honor one another and what information will be shared with the public and the broader church, and if there is openness to reunification in the future. https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-should-united-methodist-congregations-know-about-disaffiliation. Does Elevation Church Believe in Speaking in Tongues? All deed restrictions must be followed by the disaffiliating congregation prior to disaffiliation. Some churches may be anticipating a change in policies and rush to disaffiliate at the December 10 Annual Conference, but this is based on a unsubstantiated fear. This is permitted by the General Conference and paragraph 2553. InDecision 1422, the Judicial Council affirmed another decision by Haupert-Johnson. What should United Methodist congregations know about disaffiliation? If so, will they be offered an age-appropriate presentation about whats happening? While paragraph 2553 authorizes the conference Trustees to develop the terms, they quickly realized that congregations leaving the denomination has a broad range of impact across the conference which they may not fully understand without obtaining feedback from a larger group and vetting the options. InDecision 1424, the church court affirmed Arkansas Conference Bishop Gary Muellers decision. Together, guides will journey with the congregation through a spiritual discernment process that helps the church conference listen for the Holy Spirits wisdom and insight in making a decision about your relationship with The United Methodist Church. May the Term Sheet payments be paid over several years? We are your trusted partner in ministry and are here to help you in any way we can. This is a good and sensitive question. Disaffiliation is complete only when all payments due are made in full, the annual conference has approved the motion of disaffiliation and the effective date of disaffiliation set by the annual conference is reached. UMF remains your trusted partner in ministry. Creating space and time to listen deeply and contemplate. The amendment will take effect on the date of disaffiliation. This is important, because exactly how the process will work varies by annual conference. I would like to know if we as a congregation could decide on voting method at our church conference for disaffiliation. In the case when a church votes to disaffiliate and it is not to a unanimous vote, the Missional Transitional Support help the members who want to stay with GNJ have a path to transition to a new place of worship. Stay up-to-date on important announcements, events and more. A drastic shift in exit costs Our next regularly scheduled annual conference will be June 21-24 2023 (VBC in Huntsville). Absent such explicit instructions by the annual conference, however, there are no guarantees about what terms the trustees may offer, and the trustees are under no obligation to negotiate the terms they offer. A sound discernment process may also be able to reduce harms that may be unintentionally caused by the results of the vote. Over 100 churches have disaffiliated from UMC in recent years., The United Methodist Church. 2548.2, and, under some circumstances, 2549.3.bmay be sometimes also be involved to address related property issues. No, the timeframe for the administrative board/church council to discern disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church under 2553 has now passed. For example, the denomination has been grappling with the issue of ordaining gay and lesbian clergy for several decades, and some churches have left the denomination over this issue. A YouTube playlst where Rev. This was denied and we were told that the guides would represent the UMC. The Trustees took the additional step of receiving feedback from the Connectional Table and reviewing other terms from other annual conferences. Does the Annual Conference have to approve a Congregations disaffiliation? If all of the above steps are completed by March 31, 2023, the Annual Conference will vote at its May 2023 session. This can lead to a sense of isolation and frustration among churches, which can contribute to their decision to disaffiliate. The Southeast Jurisdictional Conference is November 2-4, 2022. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. *possible* specially called Annual Conference has been announced, https://www.umcna.org/postdetail/16513389, https://cdn.cokesbury.com/images/community/cokesburyportals/2016boderrata.pdf, https://www.umcna.org/files/tables/content/16410823/fields/files/6761ca70658d4a5990ad3f6a68531f76/faq-2022.pdf, https://www.stayumc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CalltoPrayerandDiscernmentFINAL.pdf. Therefore, as terms were developed, they sought feedback from the Cabinet, Chancellor, Benefits Officer and Treasurer which are all required by paragraph 2553. excerpt from a story by Heather Hahn, assistant news editor, UM News. Several recommended activities of Phase 2 of the Discernment Process propose something like this. Some conferences require a full three years of apportionment payments. This disaffiliation process is a journey to find other Wesleyans who hold the same values of scriptural authority and Christocentric theology that we do. The church court said the Alabama-West Florida Conference Board of Trustees acted unlawfully by closing sale on the property of a church before the annual conference voters ratified the disaffiliation agreement. Will professing members that are minors participate in the discernment process? Clergy persons who continue with The UMC and are appointed to a congregation that continues as a UMC congregation will their maintain membership in The UMC as a clergy person and participate in the appointment process as in the past. Ask The UMC: What should United Methodist congregations know about disaffiliation? The Term Sheet is not negotiable. The following are significant milestones/durations to be aware of: Disaffiliation Discernment Process, Phase 1 (Notification) 1 month minimum, Disaffiliation Discernment Process, Phase 2 (Prayerful Discernment) 3 month minimum, Disaffiliation Discernment Process, Phase 3 (Church Conference) 10 day minimum notification. All unfunded retiree health care liabilities as apportioned by the GNJ Board of Pension and Benefits. This is a fast-moving, evolving situation and there are many moving parts. The congregation will know before taking the vote at the . Doing the legwork of someone willing to speak to your congregation may make this offer difficult for your church leadership to decline. Now that First United Methodist Church has chosen to disaffiliate, they are in the process of joining the Global Methodist Church. Your district superintendent can give you the most accurate information so your congregation can make its best decisions informed by the facts. This article will explore the reasons behind this trend and provide an overview of the number of churches that have disaffiliated in the US. Is this saying that in the event of disaffiliation the UMC will actually take that % of the churchs money and investments? That seems very wrong. It permits the annual conference to direct the local church trustees to assign the deeds of church property to the proper legal representatives of a Pan Methodist church or another evangelical denomination. (n.d.). St. Andrew United Methodist, a megachurch in Plano, also announced its. Establishment of terms and conditions between the exiting local church and the conference board of trustees. You can find the Discipleship Ministries resources here. The key words in that sentence are "church property," permit, and annual conference. This paragraph was created to give permission to annual conferences to order such transfers of deeds at the request of the local church. A congregation can only vote on and go through the disaffiliation process once. In other cases, churches have chosen to disaffiliate in order to reduce their financial burden and focus on their local community. Disaffiliation means separating from the WNC Annual Conference (WNCC) and the entire UMC. The professing membership of a local United Methodist church shall include all baptized people who have come into membership by profession of faith through appropriate services of the baptismal covenant in the ritual or by transfer from other churches. BOD 2016, 215. This can be seen in the way that the UMC has struggled to articulate a clear and consistent message on social and political issues, which has left many members feeling confused and disconnected from the denomination. A collection of videos and links as we navigate moving forward. Prayer, scripture reading and the words of Jesus to center and root ourselves spiritually. (2021). Holy conversation that listens to understand, responds with grace and respect for God and one another and recognizes that we are in conversation with one another and with God. At the very least, advocate that there are voices on the Discernment Team inclined to stay in the United Methodist Church. The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We are not encouraging any congregation to do so, either. The Judicial Council has ruled that paragraph 2548.2 may not be used for disaffiliation. The pastor meets with the committee, but cannot be a voting member. Dear Disaffiliating United Methodists: The pastors and lay members who are leading you to vote to leave the UMC tell you that your local church will remain the same as it always has been. If you have questions regarding your account(s), please fill out the form below and we will respond to you as soon as possible. If a congregation takes actions that have the effect of severing it from The United Methodist Church or uniting it with another denomination, apart from the guidance of the district superintendent and the requirements of the Discipline and the conference, the provisions of 2549.3.b to transfer all property and assets of the congregation to the conference board of trustees may come into effect. If you are not the pastor or other designated contact person, you will want to talk with your pastor or designated contact person about any questions or concerns about the process. Our staff, Dr. Jim Dean, Pastor and Music Director Kathy Wiggins. 1:41 Dozens of churches this week chose to disaffiliate themselves from the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Only2553relates directly to disaffiliation. The Missional Transition Support will be assessed by multiplying the three-year average of the total amount of all cash, bank balances, investments, endowments, and reserves by the percent of the votes against disaffiliation during the Church conference vote. If a pastor or a sizeable portion of a congregation makes it clear they would like to leave, dont give up and be a cheerleader for others not to give up either. What will the conference do to ensure the well-being of clergy serving in congregations that decide to disaffiliate but he/she/they decide to stay in the UMC? All clergy are to complete and submit their clergy profile and requests to the superintendent by the end of the year. We also stipulated, in fairness, that should an appointment be made, any unused portion would be returned. What is needed for spiritual discernment? Church Cell: 828-507-7759. First United Methodist Church in Washington will disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. This will be decision of the Annual Conference. 2553 are not insignificant. Working through this process with the district superintendent is not only required in most conferences, but wise. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. As an ex officio member of a committee, the pastor may vote on decisions before the body.