Key Points:
- United Methodists in Liberia and other parts of West Africa have been battling over property in court with members of the breakaway Global Methodist Church.
- A civil court judge ruled the Liberia Conference is the owner of all properties under dispute in the country, including churches, schools and health facilities.
- At S.T. Nagbe United Methodist Church, worship resumed on Aug. 24 after being halted due to disruptions between current and former members.
- Church leaders are calling the decision “a landmark case in Liberia and across global Methodism.”
A civil court ruling affirming The United Methodist Church’s Liberia Conference as the sole legal owner of all its properties is being met with joy and relief and easing tensions in the region.
On Aug. 18, Judge George W. Smith of the 6th Judicial Circuit of the Civil Law Court in Monrovia ruled in favor of the Liberia Conference, after months of legal battles between the conference and former members who joined the breakaway Global Methodist Church.
Citing Liberian law, the judge ruled the Liberia Conference of The United Methodist Church is the owner of all properties registered in its name that are under dispute, including churches, schools, health facilities and universities.
“1st and 2nd Respondents have no color of right, title, legal and equitable ownership and interest to any of Petitioner the Liberia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church’s properties — worship centers, universities, primary & secondary schools, hospitals/clinics, among others,” the ruling stated.
Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr., who leads the Liberia Episcopal Area, said the ruling is a step in the right direction. “It has helped to ease tensions and prevent further confrontations with those contesting the church’s properties,” he said.
The Global Methodist Church and its co-respondents have announced an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia, challenging the decision. Quire said the top court is expected to convene in October.
“I want to assure the public and the membership of our church that I will continue to work in line with the laws of Liberia to safeguard and protect the assets of The United Methodist Church in Liberia,” he said. “As we move forward, The United Methodist Church remains committed to carrying out its ministry faithfully and contributing to the growth and development of Liberia.”
Tolbert Nyenswah, conference lay leader for the Liberia Episcopal Area, said the ruling was received with “deep relief and joy” around the conference and beyond.
“This is a landmark case in Liberia and across global Methodism. It sets a precedent that churches and institutions built through the sacrifice of generations of United Methodists remain in trust for The United Methodist Church.
“For months, our members have been praying and hoping for clarity. The decision … is a victory for unity, stability and the rule of law in our country and across our denomination and the Christian community,” he said.
United Methodists in Liberia and other parts of West Africa have been locked in struggle with members of the Global Methodist Church as both sides fight for control and ownership of United Methodist properties.
The Global Methodist Church launched in 2022 after a half-century of debate and defiance over the place of LGBTQ people in the denomination. Former United Methodist clergy and laity launched the Liberia branch of the Global Methodist Church on Feb. 14 of this year and immediately sought to wrest control of some United Methodist sanctuaries.
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“To see them so quickly remove United Methodist billboards, insignia and names, and illegally replace them with Global Methodist Church branding caused deep disbelief,” Nyenswah said.
With the court ruling, he added, “Members feel reassured that their places of worship, schools, hospitals and mission station properties will remain dedicated to the service of God and community, not entangled in unnecessary disputes.”
At Stephen Trowen (S.T.) Nagbe United Methodist Church in Monrovia, worship resumed on Aug. 24 in the wake of the court action. The church was closed by the conference earlier this month due to disruptions between current and former members on two consecutive Sundays. The incidents included the interruption of worship and Holy Communion and hostile behavior toward duly appointed pastors, the conference reported.
Church member Victor B. Smith said the congregation held a peaceful service on Sunday. “We remain a United Methodist Church congregation,” he said.
In both Liberia and Nigeria, the property disagreements also have resulted in violence. Tensions have been escalating since the 2024 General Conference voted to end decades-old denomination-wide bans on the ordination of “self-avowed practicing” gay clergy and the officiation of same-sex weddings.
The revised Social Principles also broaden the description of marriage as a sacred, lifelong covenant between an “adult man and adult woman of consenting age or two adult persons of consenting age.”
Last year’s legislative assembly also established that central conferences — church regions in Africa, Europe and the Philippines — can establish their own ordination and marriage policies in line with local laws.
This year, annual conference lay and clergy members are voting on regionalization, a package of amendments to the denomination’s constitution approved at General Conference, that, if ratified, would strengthen central conferences’ authority to set their own policies. To be ratified, constitutional amendments need the support of at least two-thirds of the total annual conference voters worldwide. With voting still taking place, United Methodists won’t know until early November whether regionalization is ratified.
Bishop Quire and the Liberia Conference have repeatedly affirmed their stance that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. During the Liberia Annual Conference in February, the conference adopted a resolution affirming the position taken by the denomination’s West Africa Central Conference gathering in December.
“Marriage within The United Methodist Church in the West Africa Central Conference is defined as a union between a man and a woman, consistent with Biblical standards, applicable to the national laws, traditions and customs of annual conferences within the central conference,” the resolution stated.
Quire dismissed ongoing rumors that the Liberia Annual Conference is “a gay church” as deliberate misinformation being spread by individuals attempting to destabilize the church and seize its properties illegally.
Speaking during an Aug. 21-24 leadership workshop in Buchanan, the bishop condemned those who have torn down the emblems and Scriptures of The United Methodist Church in some communities, describing the acts as lawless and a direct attack on the identity of the denomination in Liberia.
“The lies will not stand forever. Sooner or later, the stain of these falsehoods will fade away,” Quire told the gathering, encouraging United Methodists to remain strong in their faith and united in their mission.
Since the lower court ruling, conference leaders are looking to the future with hope.
“I feel excited about the ruling of the lower court because it cleared the way for The United Methodist Church to do ministry for and with the people of Liberia,” said Jefferson Boye Knight, the director of Human Rights Monitor and vice president of the men’s organization in the Kakata-Farmington River District.
Knight told UM News that several individuals who had been shying away from The United Methodist Church have started coming back to worship. He named the 72nd United Methodist Church in Paynesville as one of those congregations that witnessed the return of most of its members.
Ben Domah, a United Methodist in Ganta in Namba County, said he heard from several United Methodists and others who welcomed the decision of the court.
“Several persons congratulated us for remaining firm in defending the church,” Domah said. He said the aggressive posture of the breakaway United Methodists who seized the church property in Ganta has been dampened by the ruling of the lower court.
However, he said, some believe the ruling is only effect in Monrovia and not Ganta.
“(But) we know the decision of the lower court will affect all of Liberia,” Domah said.
Several of the disputed churches now being led by the Global Methodist Church also held worship services on Aug. 24 after the ruling, including Ebenezer, New Georgia and Doe Juah Memorial.
At St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Caldwell, a suburb of Monrovia, Global Methodist members used the appeal letter to seek police protection for fear that the United Methodist members would evict them, said Edwin Benson, acting communication director for St. Matthew.
A Liberia Conference press release said The United Methodist Church has not yet taken control of the properties mentioned in the ruling, pending the outcome of the appeal process.
“The conference will continue to safeguard its properties through the legal framework available and affirmed by the laws of Liberia, while also focusing on reconciliation and returning our attention to ministry, evangelism, education, health and service to our communities,” Lay Leader Nyenswah said.
“This victory … belongs to every faithful member who has held fast to the mission of the church during this period of challenges.”
Swen is editor and publisher of West African Writers, an online publication about United Methodist happenings in West Africa. Gbayor is press secretary to Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
