1/31/2020
Dear Church Family,
With our denomination in the news so much lately, we felt it would be helpful to provide a bit of additional information and context to what you may have already seen or heard (or maybe not yet seen or heard).
As Dr. Jan Davis shared with us on January 12, 2020, a plan for the separation of The United Methodist Church was announced earlier this month
through the Council of Bishops website. The proposal was the result
of months of negotiation with key bishops and key leaders of various Methodist groups. The process was aided by Kenneth Feinberg, a noted attorney and mediator. We encourage you to take a few moments to read the information from the Council of Bishops. You may also find a link to
frequently asked questions here.
Arkansas Bishop Gary Mueller also issued a brief statement regarding the proposed plan that will come to the 2020 General Conference (meeting of the worldwide United
Methodist Church) in Minneapolis May 5-15. He encouraged patience and for us to invest in study, conversations, and prayer in the coming days leading up to the 2020 General Conference.
While the plan is currently only a proposal, it seems likely that the plan will be adopted at the General Conference; therefore, we thought it might be helpful to offer some information, clarification, and context about what is happening and what it may or may not, mean for us here at Central United Methodist Church, Genesis, and the Wesley
Foundation.
The Plan for Separation of the United Methodist Church was developed in response to decades of disagreement within the denomination over the church’s stance on human sexuality. Following a special General Conference in early 2019, it became increasingly evident that an impasse had been reached and that some form of separation was
imminent.
The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church is the book of laws and procedures followed by the denomination. The current Book of Discipline does not exclude LGBTQ people from being members in a church or fully participating as members of a United Methodist church. It does, however,
prohibit pastors from performing same sex weddings and restricts United Methodist pastors from being ordained and serving if they are a self-avowed and practicing homosexual.
The proposed Plan of Separation would create a new “Traditional” Methodist Church denomination that would continue to follow the church’s current stance. The post-separation United Methodist Church would remain in place and ultimately remove the language from the Book of Discipline that limits ordination and performing same sex
weddings.
As we currently understand the proposal,
- The first step is for the General Conference to discuss and vote on the Plan for Separation of the United Methodist Church. We anticipate this to occur at the General Conference in May 2020.
- If approved at the General Conference, the Annual Conference (which in Arkansas’ case includes clergy and lay representatives from all Arkansas United Methodist Churches) would then need to consider whether or not to remain in the “Post-Separation United Methodist Church” or leave to join the newly formed “Traditional” denomination. It is unknown at this
time whether this vote will occur at the Annual Conference in May 2020 or at some other time.
- After the Annual Conference makes a decision, then each individual church will need to evaluate whether they choose to align with the decision of the Annual Conference or choose to go another direction.
Central’s Church Council will be following the votes at General Conference and Annual Conference closely. As decisions are made at these two levels, the Church Council will be determining the next steps for Central in this decision-making process. Currently, we anticipate that it is likely Central will need to take a vote to
determine whether or not to remain in the denomination that the Annual Conference chooses; however, until decisions are made at the General Conference and Annual Conference level, we cannot determine when that will be. We do promise to update you as developments warrant.
It is unfortunate that the United Methodist Church has reached this tipping point and we realize that it creates anxiety and pain for many of you. There are considerable details still to be worked out regarding how this will unfold in the months ahead. In the meantime, Central will continue to be Central.
- We will seek to be a bright light in an often-dark world.
- We will continue to hold our weekly worship services at the main campus and at the Genesis campus.
- We will continue to provide discipleship opportunities for our children, youth and adults.
- We will continue to love, protect, and minister to all people and to share and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We anticipate having some Family Conversations in the near future. These will provide opportunities for information to be shared with the church family and for the church family to ask questions and participate in discussion. We are awaiting some information from the Annual Conference regarding this process before announcing specific
dates. We hope you will join us at one of these discussion sessions once they are announced.
We have learned that two lay-led groups have formed at Central over the past few months with one advocating for the current Book of Discipline language supporting traditional marriage and the other advocating for changes to the Book of Discipline that would remove the current language. Both groups have been given permission by the
senior pastor to hold informational meetings at Central regarding their respective positions. We have received inquiries from the church family about how to connect with each of these groups, so we are providing email contacts below for each group. It is our understanding that if you send them an email with your name and contact information that they will place you on their respective email distribution lists.
Supporters of the “Traditional Methodist” denomination: christians@cumctraditionalwesleyans.com
Supporters of the “Post Separation United Methodist Church” denomination: unitedforcentral@gmail.com
Finally, we ask for your prayers for our church pastors and leaders as they seek to navigate us through the uncharted waters ahead. Along these lines, we want to lift to you a Prayer Vigil that is being held each Tuesday at noon in the Wesley Chapel. It will offer a time for our church family to receive communion and pray for our
church in a come and go fashion.
In His service,
Larry Templeton, Church Council Chair Jason Wilson, Lay Leader
