70 Methodist churches choose to disaffiliate from North Georgia Conference

Dozens of churches this week chose to disaffiliate themselves from the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

During an annual conference held this week in Athens, 70 churches' wishes to abandon its affiliations with the North Georgia Conference were granted, noted the conference's website.

The decision to disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church comes as some of the congregations expressed concern with changes to the church's doctrine regarding sexuality.

"Bless these congregations as they depart. I pray that we will be partners in ministry and you will do your mighty work of healing division and overcoming rifts," prayed Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson as noted on the website.

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The departing churches represent 9 percent of the congregations in the North Georgia Conference, according to the website.

“Our denomination has a clear process for disaffiliation and Conference leaders are walking alongside the churches that want to take this path,” Conference Communications Director Sybil Davidson said in a statement. “While we do not wish to see any church disaffiliate, we are committed to a clear and healthy process.”

Davidson noted that the 2019 Special Session of the (global) General Conference of The United Methodist Church adopted a disaffiliation agreement allowing churches to leave the denomination through the end of 2023 "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 as resolved and adopted by the 2019 General Conference, or the actions or inactions of its annual conference related to these issues which follow.”

Despite the congregations' decision to disaffiliate, no official changes had been made to the UMC's doctrine, according to Greg Porterfield, district superintendent of the southeast region for the North Georgia Conference.

"It was a sad, sad moment regardless of what persuasion you were," Porterfield said. "Partly because it was the decision of dissent, and faith is something we ascend to and affirm rather than disaffirm."

Porterfield said that while human sexuality may have been the flashpoint, the reasoning may have been more fundamental. He said it was also the anticipation of any change that may come that possibly led to the congregations' decisions.

"I would think there's a sense or desire to be comforted in what was and a fear of what will be," he said.

Rodrigo Cruz, district superintendent of the central east region for the North Georgia Conference, said this tension within churches could've arguably been growing for decades as churches have worked to be more inclusive.

"Finally in 2019, at a global level, there was a path created for churches to disaffiliate," Cruz said. "Last year we officially adopted that process."

Local congregations voted on whether or not to disaffiliate, he said, and the vote on Thursday formally ratified their decisions.

In the Augusta area, Quest Church in Grovetown is among the 70 churches who have chosen to disaffiliate with the conference.

In a statement supplied by Executive Pastor Sarah MacDonald, the church said "the intensifying division in our denomination has become a significant distraction from Quest Church’s primary mission and purpose in our community and world, thus the reason for our disaffiliation." The statement further said the church is thankful for the provisions that allow amicable separation.

Cruz said despite the churches' decisions, inclusivity remains important to the United Methodist Church's mission.

"If we are not reaching out to all, our mission as a church is incomplete," he said. "We are certainly trying not only to be open to everybody, but welcome and value everybody as well."

Cruz said it was sad to see congregations that had been part of the Methodist Church for many years move away from the movement.

"But what we believe is this separation is hopefully positioning both sides to be more true to what they want to be, and hopefully we can perhaps accomplish more," Cruz said. "Those that are leaving we wish them the best."

A pathway for churches that may wish to reverse their decisions will also be created, he said.

"Even if it were one or a small percent left there are members of the Methodist Church that believe we have a God-given vision to make disciples," Cruz said. "Based on the numbers right now that still seems to be the majority of the congregation and people."

Visit https://www.ngumc.org/newsdetail/disaffiliations-16505564 for a list of the churches soon to leave the conference.

Editor's note: The initial publication for this story used an incorrect spelling for Greg Porterfield.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: GA churches vote to disaffiliate from United Methodist Church