Louis where delegates voted 438-384 to strengthen bans on LGBTQ-inclusive practices. and 6.5 million overseas.ĭifferences over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy have simmered for years in the UMC, and came to a head in 2019 at a conference in St. The United Methodist Church claims 6.3 million members in the U.S. A little more than half of the denomination’s members are overseas, notably in Africa and the Philippines. In March, the UMC announced it was pushing off the next gathering yet again - to 2024 - due to long delays in the U.S.
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That legislative body is the only one that could approve a tentative agreement - unveiled in 2020 after negotiations between conservatives, liberals and centrists - to allow churches and regional groups to leave the denomination and keep their property.īut the General Conference, originally scheduled for 2020, was already delayed for two straight years by the pandemic. Global Methodist Church organizers had originally expected to launch the denomination only after the next General Conference of the UMC. He suggested some bishops are intentionally blocking churches from using certain processes for exiting the denomination. As a result, Boyette expects the ranks of the Global Methodist Church will grow over time, noting that some who want to join will wait until after the UMC's 2024 General Conference – and the possible passage of a protocol that spells out details for the breakup.īoyette criticized the actions of some members of the Council of Bishops, including the decision to further delay the General Conference. It is easier for clergy to leave the UMC than an entire church, which has to follow a layered process. “On May 1, I will no longer be a member of the United Methodist Church,” said Boyette, who has already been approved – effective Sunday - as a clergyperson in the new denomination. Its transitional doctrine includes a belief that marriage is between one man and one woman, and clergy must adhere to it – a core point of division in the UMC for decades.īoyette said he expects some churches and pastors to announce Sunday they are joining the Global Methodist Church. “It’ll be more of a rolling celebration.”
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Keith Boyette, chairman of the new denomination’s Transitional Leadership Council and a United Methodist minister in Virginia. “This is the date that we can start receiving churches as they leave the United Methodist Church, and that’s going to occur over a considerable amount of time,” said the Rev.