Protests broke out on Sunday at the New Georgia United Methodist Church in Monrovia over the suspension of an outspoken critic of same-sex marriage. The protests spread to other churches in the capital, prompting riot police to intervene.
The building, built in 1923, was funded entirely by women.
The new denomination, with 4,715 congregations, will meet to adopt a constitution and iron out its governance structure.
In a joint address, AME bishops called for the creation of ‘accountability measures for every elected and appointed leader within our church.’
‘Church employees who served their community for years deserve the retirement funds they were promised,’ responded a lawyer involved in the litigation.
Some 2,900 people have joined an ‘AMEs for Reform’ Facebook group and others have issued open letters as part of ‘AMEs for Justice and Accountability.’
Kristin Stoneking will replace Bishop Karen Oliveto, the denomination’s first openly gay married bishop, who, at age 66, is retiring.
Earlier this month, delegates at a United Methodist Church conference struck down the UMC’s longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies and created a path for clergy ousted because of them to return.
On the first Sunday after the conclusion of the denomination’s General Conference, many queer United Methodists celebrated their release from the tight and narrow spaces that had confined them.
Regionalization has been framed as an undertaking of decolonization. But the plan is also an acknowledgment that cultural and theological differences are driving Methodists apart, especially regarding sexuality.