Midland Heights Methodists break from United Methodist denomination

Off North Sixth Street in north Fort Smith, across from the Midland Heights Clothes Closet, and two blocks north of the Graphic Packaging International on Boone Avenue, is a church that has been in the United Methodist denomination.

Midland Heights United Methodist Church, near a former glass plant, northwest of downtown in an industrial area along Midland Boulevard/ U.S. 71, has disaffiliated from the second-largest denomination in Arkansas.

The Rev. Dan Williams, Midland Heights pastor, has said that differing views on homosexuality represent the core of the split.

In the early 1900s, the Midland Heights district of north Fort Smith became more industrialized. A fire in 1917 heavily damaged the Tulsa Glass Co., but it would return as the Radiant Glass Co. Factory workers arrived for work and departed for home by trolley car that stopped at N. 11th and Van Buren, the Southwest American newspaper reported.

More United Methodists exit

As of May 17, a total of 102 Arkansas United Methodist churches have split from the United Methodist denomination. Midland Heights and Greenwood Methodist churches are the latest to leave the denomination from the Arkansas River Valley. The Alma Methodist church severed its ties in November.

Williams, the Midland Heights pastor, began the process by asking for a list of questions about the church disaffiliation.

After members voted to leave the United Methodist Church, the plan was ratified in Hot Springs at a special meeting of the Arkansas churches' conference.

At the core of the split is a divisiveness over the United Methodist Church doctrine regarding gay marriage in the church and the ordination of gay clergy. Gay marriages are not performed in United Methodist churches under current church doctrine.

Churches in Arkansas that have left the United Methodists have leaned toward more conservative views. The issues have also involved property rights.

At the largest United Methodist church in Fort Smith, the pastor says its mission in the community is to keep the congregation there and at other local Methodist churches united.

With about 1,500 members, Fort Smith First United Methodist will remain in the denomination.

In June 2022, the church board decided disaffiliation would not be considered.

The Rev. William O. "Bud" Reeves said 30 board members voted against letting the congregation decide the issue.

"The decision as to whether or not to enter into the conversation about leaving the United Methodist Church starts with what we call the administrative board," Reeves said. "The board has to start that process. And our board voted unanimously not to start that process."

The board voted unanimously to stay in the United Methodist denomination.

"It was not a churchwide vote, but it was the vote of our leadership council, which is the appropriate body to make that decision," Reeves said.

He talked about what has kept First United together. All churches have been trying to recover from the pandemic. Other Fort Smith United Methodist churches are Cavanaugh, Faith, Goddard, St. Paul and Wesley United Methodist churches.

"Our mission as a church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," Reeves said. "That's the mission of the church in the United Methodist church and we try to focus very much on what our true mission is."

He said his church chooses to highlight its Sunday worship, the children and youth ministry, music and its community outreach, which includes food pantries and music.

"We try to focus on the positive things that are going on in our church and interact with the community in a positive way," Reeves said. "Most of our United Methodist churches in Fort Smith are doing the same."

He said that it's important the church remained centered.

"We're trying to keep the main thing the main thing," Reeves said. "Trying to emphasis our worship, children, youth outreach in the community and strengthen all of those. All of the churches are trying to recover from the pandemic so we're just trying to build up our church and do what the church is supposed to do."

People have learned to live with differing opinions, he said.

"Our church has been incredibly unified, but that doesn't mean that everybody has the same opinion. We have a lot of people and therefore a lot of different opinions, and we try to honor those, honor the differences and love one and other and we can see that the church is sort of a big tent where people of different opinions can co-exist and you know, worship Christ together and be in a mission together. We all don't have to agree on every single thing" Reeves said.

A few reasons Methodists stay in the United Methodist church include family ties, the history of the church, their mission and theology.

"We have a doctrine that is sound and our doctrine has not changed. As Methodists, we love scripture. Things we do are based on scripture. And a lot of the division of the other churches has been brought about by accusations made against the United Methodist Church that simply are not true," Reeves said.

"Our doctrine has not changed. We still love the Bible. We still believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and our savior. And that is how we and most of the churches who are staying United Methodists are staying that way because of those things, our mission, our history, our theology, and our doctrine," he said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: How the Midland Heights Methodists decided to leave the church