To many, the division that destroyed the United Methodist Church seemed inevitable, although it was an outcome that few wanted.
The departure of a quarter of the church's roughly 30,000 congregations illustrates the fallout from a prolonged and messy divorce, sparked by disagreements over issues of sex and gender identity.
More than 7,600 congregations have indicated their intention to secede from the UMC as of December 31, with many choosing to join the newly formed Universal Methodist Church. This rift represents the largest sectarian division in US history.
“It's a divorce, and it's messy,” said Tracy Karcher, a former Methodist minister who runs a general store in rural Sand Springs, Montana. “That's it, if you break it down. Who can keep what, who can live with whom. But both sides will move forward.”
Methodist pastors and members expressed a mixture of relief, sadness and hope for the future as the two sides go their separate ways.
“The majority of delegates representing American churches are very strong about welcoming and affirming denominations,” said Joel Bullock, senior pastor at St. Matthew UMC in Mesa, Arizona. “I can't speak for the traditionalists, but I think they saw the writing on the wall and decided it would be in the best interest to start with something new.”
Others, like Joyce Miller, a member of Venice Church of Christ in Venice, Florida, looked at it differently.
“As a member of a global Methodist congregation, I can assure you that those who choose to follow the biblical tradition of Methodism have not left UM,” Miller wrote in an email. “He left us.”
LGBT participation is a contentious issue
The United Methodist Church was one of the largest Protestant denominations in America, second in size only to the Southern Baptists. While a 2015 Pew Research Center study estimated about 9 million Methodists nationwide, a more recent online church directory indicated about 5.7 million professing members.
Over the past decade, progressive factions within the church have become more vocal about reforming church discipline to welcome LGBT participation, including same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy.
In 2016, a number of Methodist clergy came out as gay, sparking controversy around the issue. But several years later, at the UMC's General Conference, church leadership voted to affirm traditional policies, leading to additional negative reactions.
The ongoing stalemate prompted church leaders to bring in mediator Kenneth Feinberg to help broker a solution that would eventually include the creation of a new denomination, the Universal Methodist Church, as well as an exit plan that would allow churches to disaffiliate for “reasons of conscience” regarding sexual issues. .
Bullock, who joined St. Matthew's last summer, said a disaffiliation vote was not necessary among his congregation since leaders of the regional group to which she belongs — the UMC's Desert Southwest Conference — had already voted to support full LGBT participation despite objections Among some members. .
He said that this issue caused division in his group. Bullock, who is gay, had been reading emails and letters written by former church members who strongly opposed the church's open views on sexuality.
He said some had left the church before he arrived in July, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was the motive behind that.
“Some of these people are still associated with the church,” he added. “I've met them in person, and they're wonderful, wonderful people, but this is something they haven't been able to participate in.”
“Is this what we were fighting for?”
While many saw the split as inevitable, some expressed frustration at how it developed.
The number of “reconciliation” congregations — those who vote to accept the full participation of members of the LGBTQ community in the life of the church and community — is growing in the United States, raising hopes among many that the UMC as a whole will adopt similar policies and remove anti-LGBT language. Of its laws. Instead, there was a push towards creating global regions that could decide matters for themselves.
“The way things are going right now is very frustrating for us,” said Frank Schaeffer, pastor of UMC in Isla Vista, California. We have lost thousands of churches. This is a high price we must pay for our sect, and for what?”
For Schaefer, it's personal: A decade ago, when he was a pastor in Pennsylvania, he was removed from his position after performing a same-sex wedding and refusing to pledge never to do it again. Schaefer was eventually reinstated by the Judicial Council of the UMC, but he left Pennsylvania to become a minister and minister at a California church near the University of California, Santa Barbara.
He is troubled by the idea that the UMC would not formally welcome LGBTQ participation as a whole.
“If we leave things as they are, there will be gatherings that could continue on the path of discrimination,” he said. “Is this what we've been fighting for all these years?”
Karcher, a former Methodist minister in North Carolina, said she would take a backseat “until things are settled.”
She said her problem was not related to more progressive views. Rather, it stems from frustration with the UMC's bloated bureaucracy, increasing harmful rhetoric on both sides and deteriorating respect for church discipline among regional leaders who have approved the ordination of openly gay clergy, despite regulations stating otherwise.
“General assemblies need to agree to change discipline before they can begin to change patterns of behavior,” she said, noting that church doctrine prohibits the ordination of gay clergy.
She said such infighting has been going on for years, but the harmful rhetoric being traded back and forth has gotten worse.
“That's when I had to step back and say I wasn't going to be a part of it,” she said.
Some traditionalists felt turned away
Miller's congregation in Florida voted overwhelmingly to not belong to the denomination, despite the strong emotional connection felt by those who grew up in the UMC, she said.
Those following a more advanced theology could have launched their own denomination “but decided to hijack the church instead,” demanding money and infrastructure “that believers had built over hundreds of years,” she said.
On the other hand, Schiffer feels the opposite has happened. Before 1972, when the United Methodist Church deemed homosexuality inconsistent with Christian doctrine, the denomination did not have language prohibiting same-sex participation, he said.
“I feel like the church has been hijacked by political conservatives,” he said. “And that's what started this whole fight.”
Karcher said she can understand how traditionalists might feel excluded.
“It has become a political issue, and politics no longer has a place in the church,” she said. “When people start putting their agendas before serving our Lord, it is wrong.”
At the same time, she recognizes the impatience among church progressives who have spent decades fighting for change.
The issue was scheduled to be re-evaluated at the UMC's 2020 General Conference in Minneapolis but was sidelined by the pandemic, where it has remained ever since. With the split completed, Karcher hopes some sort of resolution can be reached at the next UMC meeting in Charlotte this spring.
“It's about time,” she said. “Let's make a decision.”
Will the split lead to new beginnings or problems?
While some are concerned about the future of the church, others say the break opens the door for each side to move forward.
“This will allow United Methodists to reorganize and cut a lot of the red tape and get back to where we once were in service to the Lord and the world,” Karcher said.
But even though the bleeding has stopped, Schiffer said the struggle for recognition for the LGBT community continues.
“This is a huge loss for everyone,” Schaefer said. “I don't feel any sense of relief. Those who left are having to scrape together cash and start over in some ways. There's a lot of anxiety.”
Despite declining membership, the global denomination has expanded globally — especially in Africa, where Karcher noted its followers are more conservative.
“They are very conservative, but they are a huge financial base,” she said. “And if African Methodists decide they want to have their own denomination, that will be painful. I can see that happening down the road.”
Bullock said his hope is that the UMC not only survives but thrives, calling on leaders to affirm LGBT participation in church law “so that people really understand — not just people in our churches, but also those who drive by — that we are inclusive.” And God’s love is true for all people.”
He continued: “This is something we say every Sunday morning in greeting after announcements.” “No matter what your beliefs are or what doubts you have, no matter your age or skin color or who you love, you are welcome in this space. And I think that is the heart of who we are as a church. I was someone who was not accepted at one time, and now I am.” Also, I am grateful to be in a church that accepted me.”
