United Methodist Churches sign on to a lawsuit against their conference
In the last week we became aware of a lawsuit filed by 106 Methodist churches in our state against the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. I feel a responsibility as your pastor to be transparent and communicate this news as it is happening, even if it is unsettling. I want us to all be informed about events in our larger denomination. For a summary of the disaffiliation lawsuit read this article by United Methodist News. I also found the Frequently Asked Questions page shared by Bishop Carter to be a helpful resource.
Maybe you are asking what are the effects of this conflict on our local church? There are not direct effects on our local church ministry. We will continue to love young people well, offer dynamic worship, and serve our community. That said, this conflict harms our witness as United Methodists and is a distraction from our core mission of “Offering the living water of Jesus Christ to all who are thirsty.”
Differing views on how the church should be in ministry with and for LGBTQ people are at the heart of this conflict. The polarization of our culture has seeped into the life of our church and we have reached a place where some churches can’t imagine being the church with people who think differently so they are deciding to depart the denomination. The disaffiliation lawsuit is about the process for that separation. The churches bringing the suit feel that the cost of two years apportionments (the church’s tithe to the conference) and the unfunded pension liability (to care for retired clergy who served those congregations) is too much, so they are suing to leave for free. If you would like to talk further or would like more resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at PastorMike@SpringChurch.org. Please join me in praying for the United Methodist Church in Florida.
