UMC Top Court Rules Disaffiliating Clergy Don’t Automatically Lose Credentials
A Wisconsin bishop had required clergy whose churches were disaffiliating to give up their jobs or their credentials.
UMC Clergy Reportedly Face Complaint, Church Trial After Marrying Nonbinary Couple
The Rev. Paige Swaim-Presley and the Rev. Elizabeth Davidson say they were informed in late February a formal complaint has been filed against them, allegedly for officiating a same-sex wedding.
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by 36 United Methodist Churches
A North Carolina Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed last year by 36 United Methodist churches demanding to sever their ties to the denomination.
Bitter Infighting Threatens Kenya’s Methodist Church
Disagreements within the Methodist Church in Kenya are threatening to tear apart the denomination, with some senior clergy seeking to form independent regional conferences.
For United Methodists’ Top Court, 2024 Is the New 2020
The United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, ruled again on the question of leaving the denomination in a decision released last week as the church goes through a slow-moving split over the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members.
Why Students at a Kentucky Christian School Are Praying and Singing Round the Clock
Last Wednesday, students at Asbury University gathered for their biweekly chapel service in the 1,500-seat Hughes Auditorium. They sang. They listened to a sermon. They prayed. Nearly a week later, many of them are still there.
‘Not a Real Schism’: Four Years Later, UMC Exodus Less a Gush, More a Trickle
Nearly four years ago, the United Methodist Church approved an exit plan for churches wishing to break away from the global denomination over differing beliefs about sexuality, setting in motion what many believed would be a modern-day schism. Since then, a new analysis has found,
Some Churches Leave UMC Through Formal Process; Others Are Suing
Across the country, United Methodist churches are voting to leave the denomination by following an exit plan approved by its leaders more than three years ago. But in Florida and North Carolina, some churches have decided to sue United Methodist regional bodies. The denomination is
UMC Bishops in Africa Break With Africa Initiative, Wesleyan Covenant Association
A group of United Methodist bishops in Africa announced Thursday that it will no longer work with the Africa Initiative or the Wesleyan Covenant Association, accusing the groups of spreading misinformation. The bishops claim the Africa Initiative, which was formed in 2008 to give African
Bishop Slams ‘Negative Rhetoric’ as Conservative Methodists Declare End to Moratorium
In his first presidential address as president of the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops, Bishop Thomas Bickerton called on conservative groups encouraging churches to leave the denomination to stop the negative rhetoric. He accused the Global Methodist Church and the Wesleyan Covenant Association of