439 Texas congregations granted approval to leave the United Methodist Church

Two regional governing our bodies of the United Methodist Church in Texas permitted the departure of all 439 churches that had requested to disaffiliate from the denomination throughout separate particular periods Saturday.

The Texas Annual Conference, based mostly in Houston, granted approval to 294 church buildings out of its almost 600. The Northwest Texas Conference, based mostly in Lubbock, permitted the departure of 145 church buildings from the roughly 200 it encompasses.

After a controversial stance towards same-sex marriages and LGBTQ clergy members was upheld by a slim majority in 2019, congregations throughout the nation are searching for to disaffiliate from the denomination.

Many conservative congregations are leaving the UMC, believing the 2019 resolution has not been enforced. However, some church buildings deny leaving over LGBTQ inclusion and level to a wide range of variations, from funds to theology.

The UMC is allowing churches to leave the denomination whereas retaining their properties and property so long as sure steps are taken earlier than the finish of 2023, under a ruling also approved in 2019.

Church congregations should first attain a two-thirds majority vote in favor earlier than being permitted by their annual convention or its regional governing physique. Churches should additionally pay two years of apportionments to the UMC in addition to any unfunded pension legal responsibility.

Apportionments are annual funds paid to the UMC by particular person congregations. The quantity is decided by annual conferences.

In Houston, 1,245 delegates from the 598 congregations voted on the mass departure, and 93% voted in favor. A spokesperson for the Texas Annual Conference, which covers a lot of East Texas, mentioned 4% abstained and three% voted towards the departures.

The Texas Annual Conference is the third-largest in the nation.

Bishop Scott Jones mentioned he wished the departing church buildings and the Texas Annual Conference the greatest at the conclusion of the special session.

“This is a very difficult time, but I’m proud that our conference has handled this with grace, with mutual respect and with love,” he mentioned.

Jones additionally concluded his time as bishop together with his phrases. Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey might be the convention’s new chief beginning Jan. 1.

In Lubbock, the convention made up of 201 congregations permitted a report by the Board of Trustees granting the 145 church buildings leave to disaffiliate.

Although the two conferences supplied sweeping approval for the church buildings searching for to disaffiliate, this has not been the case all over the place in the South Central Jurisdiction of the UMC.

The Arkansas Annual Conference controversially permitted the disaffiliation of 35 church buildings whereas blocking three others in November, UM News reported.

In September, 81 church buildings in the Central Texas Conference, which incorporates Fort Worth, had been permitted to disaffiliate in a particular session. The convention at the moment has 185 congregations, and no less than two extra have voted to leave.

Encompassing the Dallas space is the North Texas Conference, which incorporates 276 church buildings. While fifty-four church buildings have entered the course of, solely six have held a vote and reached the two-thirds threshold to leave. Ten others determined to stay with the UMC earlier than going to a vote.