Even as United Methodist conferences deal with mounting church exits and disagreements over LGBTQ inclusion, they are bearing a shared witness on gun violence. And they are urging actions beyond thoughts and prayers.
The Florida Conference is facing a lawsuit filed by more than 100 churches that want to leave The United Methodist Church with property and transfer to a breakaway, theologically conservative denomination.
With no formal separation plan, United Methodist annual conferences have a lot of leeway in administering church disaffiliations. At the same time, the number of church departures is climbing.
Division is always a choice. If an annual conference and its churches can figure that out, it can return to doing God’s mission and be amazing for God’s people.
