{"id":45637,"date":"2020-01-03T15:01:05","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T20:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=45637"},"modified":"2020-01-03T15:02:14","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T20:02:14","slug":"methodist-church-plans-to-split-over-gay-marriage-clergy-church-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2020\/01\/methodist-church-plans-to-split-over-gay-marriage-clergy-church-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Methodist church plans to split over gay marriage, clergy: church officials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United Methodist Church plans to split into two\ndenominations later this year, church officials said on Friday, a schism that\nfollows years of contention over whether the church should end its ban on gay\nmarriage and ordination of gay clergy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The plan, if approved at the church\u2019s worldwide conference\nin Minneapolis in May, would divide the third-largest U.S. Christian\ndenomination into two branches: a traditionalist branch that opposes gay\nmarriage and the ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clergy,\nand a more tolerant branch that will allow same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The split would affect the denomination globally, church\nleaders said. The United Methodist Church lists more than 13 million members in\nthe United States and 80 million worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage\nthroughout the nation in 2015, but that decision applies only to civil, not\nreligious, services. Some denominations, including the Episcopal Church and\ncertain branches of Judaism, have sanctified same-sex unions, while others\nincluding the Roman Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention, have\ndeclined to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A council of Methodist bishops in Washington, D.C. called\nFriday\u2019s move the \u201cbest means to resolve our differences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Conference Bishop Thomas Bickerton, part of the\ngroup that drafted the plan, said this was a way to reach an amicable\nseparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe protocol provides a pathway that acknowledges our\ndifferences, respects everyone in the process, and graciously allows us to\ncontinue to live out the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 03, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Ken Carter Bishop, Florida Conference, The United\nMethodist Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Florida Conference,
\n 
\nGrace and Peace to you, in the name and spirit of our Savior and Lord, Jesus\nChrist, in these first days of a new year.
\n 
\nI write to commend to you the fruit of a mediation process undertaken by\nsixteen United Methodists, entitled \u201cA Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace\nthrough Separation.\u201d
\n 
\nThe eight-page document, linked here<\/a>, represents work done by a group of United Methodists\nfrom across the world who represent many (not all) of the important streams of\nour church.
\n 
\nThis work was done in collaboration with Mr. Kenneth Feinberg, noted mediator\nknown for his work with the September 11 Victim\u2019s Compensation Fund, the\nVirginia Tech and Boston Marathon victims, and the BP Deepwater Horizon\nDisaster.  Mr. Feinberg, who is not a United Methodist, offered his\nprofessional guidance to us pro bono. 
\n 
\nThe Protocol is offered in service to the delegates who will gather four short\nmonths from now in Minneapolis for the 2020 General Conference. It is not\nperfect, no mediation is, but it gives a great deal to each of these different\nstreams, more than I could have imagined at the beginning.  All of this\nhas been done \u2014 and the word I hear from many is that it is something of a\nmiracle \u2014 without harming these persons.  I attribute this to the work of\nthe Holy Spirit.
\n 
\nThe protocol was unanimously affirmed and signed by the sixteen participants.
\n 
\nKey features of the mediation protocol and proposed legislation that will\nfollow are:
\n 
\nThe ongoing existence of The United Methodist Church
\nA gracious way of departure for a traditionalist conservative Methodist Church,\nwith a financial settlement.
\n 
\nThe creation of four regional conferences\u2014Africa, U.S., Europe,\nPhilippines\u2014each with its own ability to adapt the Book of Discipline.
\nThe removal of restrictive language related to LGBTQ identity and practice in\nthe U.S. post-separation United Methodist Church immediately following the May\nGeneral Conference.
\n 
\nHolding in abeyance any administrative or judicial processes regarding\nrestrictions in the Book of Discipline related to LGBTQ persons, as of January\n1, 2020.
\n 
\nCreation of a fund to strengthen the Black Church and ministries with and among\nmarginalized persons.
\n 
\nNo annual conference or local church is required to vote on departure from the\nUnited Methodist Church.
\n 
\nNo one is asked to leave or separate from the church.
\nAnnual Conferences and local churches may vote to depart from The United\nMethodist Church with their property in order to participate in another\nMethodist expression.
\n 
\nWespath will offer a continuity of service across the various Methodist\nexpressions.
\n 
\nNote: This brief summary is not intended to be a substitute for the actual\nreading of the protocol.  It is simply to encourage United Methodists to\ndevelop an understanding of the contents of the protocol. I encourage you to\nview the following documents:
\n 
\nA Press Release<\/a>: 
\nThe Signed Protocol<\/a>:
\nFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs<\/a>)
\n 
\nMuch of the effect of this protocol will be how we receive it and how we turn\ntoward each oAther. It is not about winners or losers, but about how God’s\npromise of grace and reconciliation relates to our structures, convictions, and\nhopes. It is significant, and at the same time, it is one step in a journey.
\n 
\nFor me, this mediation work is in the fulfillment of my consecration vows as a\nbishop, to seek the unity of the church.  And for me, it is in continuity\nwith the work of the Commission on a Way Forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n