Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson has completed the required steps for its members to take a formal vote to separate from the United Methodist Church.
Members of the church, which is the largest United Methodist congregation in the state, are scheduled to discuss and vote upon disaffiliation on Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. at the church, 6000 Old Canton Road, according to the Christ United Methodist website (christunitedjxn.org/resources/discernment/).
The main issue is the United Methodist Church (UMC) and its rejection of LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriage.
A two-thirds majority votes of those present is required to disaffiliate. After that, action of the Mississippi Annual Conference, which has scheduled a called session on Dec. 9, is required to finalize the disaffiliation.
A straw poll of the congregation reflected 76 percent of members in favor of disaffiliation and 24 percent in favor of remaining with the United Methodist Church, according to the Christ United Methodist website.
The 2020 Official Journal and Year Book of the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church shows that Christ United Methodist had 3,683 “professing members” at the close of 2019. That is the latest statistical data available from the conference
Eddie Rester, the lead pastor at Christ United, said via email that he is not talking to anyone in the press about the process nor would anyone else on the Christ United Methodist staff.
The discernment process calls for a 13-member Discernment Team, each of which is laity, and does not determine the final outcome. The pastor is called upon when needed to provide theological perspective, history and context to the ongoing issues.
The Christ United website explains in detail the disaffiliation process, lists important dates and includes frequently asked questions about the process. It also includes a video of a conversation with Rester and Howard Boone, longtime leader at Christ United, speaking about what led to division in the church and the process of disaffiliation.
In Annual Conferences since 2019, 6,182 congregations of United Methodists voted to leave the church, which composes the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, according to a USA Today story on July 6. The story goes on to say: “This year alone, 4,172 congregations left, according to an unofficial tally by the United Methodist News Service.”
Jasmine Haynes, communications specialist at the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church, said a total of 244 churches have left the Mississippi United Methodist Conference as of this year.
Fifty-five churches disaffiliated from the conference before 2023, seven in 2019, 11 in 2020, 23 in 2021 and 14 in 2022, she said. One hundred and eighty-nine congregations were ratified to disaffiliate at the 2023 session of the Mississippi Annual Conference in June.
Discord in the United Methodist Church about whether to accept or reject LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage has been building for years. The conflict dates to 1972 when conversations began at General Conference, the denomination’s lawmaking body that generally meets every four years and usually has about 1,000 delegates.
At the 2019 General Conference, by a slim majority, the conference affirmed a stance against the ordination of openly gay ministers and the marriage of same-sex couples. Conservative delegates from Africa and Asia joined with U.S. conservatives to reiterate the United Methodist Church definition of marriage as “the union of one man and one woman” and to bar the ordination of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals.” The delegates approved strict new penalties for clergy who violate the church rules.
Delegates rejected the One Church Plan, which would have allowed local churches and conferences to set their own policies on the role of LGBTQ people in the life of the church.
What resulted from the 2019 General Conference was the disaffiliation process that a congregation must follow to leave the denomination. After a church has a called meeting to decide if the congregation wants to disaffiliate, it must meet certain criteria and the request to disaffiliate must be approved at a session of the Annual Conference.
The Christ United Methodist website lists numerous concerns that led to the recommendation to disaffiliation including:
- “Concern about the United Methodist Church’s demonstrated lack of leadership and failure in regard to the prohibition of the ordination of homosexual clergy and the performance of same-sex marriages with the UMC.”
- “Concern about the ongoing division within the United Methodist Church over the issue of homosexuality and its impact on the public perception of the UMC.”
- “Concern that the traditional language of the Book of Discipline will be changed at future General Conferences.”
- “Concern about the ongoing division within the United Methodist Church distracting from missional and ministry objectives.”
- “Concern regarding the Biblical definition of marriage.”
- “Concern regarding the expiration of Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline. Adopted at the 2019 General Conference. Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline allows churches wishing to disaffiliate from the UMC for reasons of conscience regarding a change in the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline related to the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals to do so, taking their church property with them. Paragraph 2553 expires December 31, 2023. There is no assurance that new, similar legislation will be on the agenda or approved at the 2024 General Conference. At a minimum, the risk and concern is that it will be increasingly more difficult and costly for churches to disaffiliate.”
- “Concern about the existing pastoral pipeline within the United Methodist Church.”
Complicating the issue is this: United Methodist church buildings are not owned by the individual congregations but held in trust. A congregation can keep their buildings after the legal proceedings have been completed and a financial settlement with the United Methodist Church is reached.
According to information on the Christ United Methodist website, it would cost the church about $1.9 million to disaffiliate. The church would have to pay about $1.05 million in any unpaid apportionments for the 12 months prior to disaffiliation, as well as an additional 12 months of apportionments. It would also have to contribute $847,000 for pension liabilities. There would also be miscellaneous costs associated with deconsecrating the church after disaffiliation.
According to the website, Christ Methodist is blessed with a cash reserve, which would cover the cost of leaving the United Methodist Church. “We would not have to borrow money to cover the cost of disaffiliation,” so the website states.
Clergy would make the decision to remain at Christ United Methodist and surrender their credentials (certificate of membership and certificate of ordination) or to remain with the United Methodist Church.
Three other churches in northeast Jackson and south Madison County have left the United Methodist Church in recent years.
Bellwether Church at 4624 Old Canton Road closed as a United Methodist Church in 2018 after coming to a financial settlement with the United Methodist Church and retained its church property.
In January, Madison United Methodist Church announced its members voted to move forward with disaffiliating. It is now known as Madison Methodist Church.
The former Ridgeland First United Methodist Church at 324 W. Jackson St., is finding its way forward as Old Town Wesley Church after members voted to leave the United Methodist Conference.
Northeast Jackson includes a handful of United Methodist churches: Briarwood United Methodist Church (also the location of the Mississippi Conference offices), Broadmeadow United Methodist Church and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. While not located in northeast Jackson, Wells United Methodist Church at 2019 Bailey Ave. has many faithful members who live in northeast Jackson.
South Madison County includes Parkway Hills United Methodist and St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church, each in Madison.
Numerous United Methodist faith communities, including Galloway United Methodist in downtown Jackson, have applied to become what is known as a Lighthouse Congregation.
Lighthouse Congregations are specifically trained to welcome anyone whose church has closed or disaffiliated or someone who is simply looking for a place to belong, Haynes said.
