Vote allows dozens of Augusta area churches to disaffiliate from United Methodist

Alexandra Koch, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
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The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist church voted on Saturday to allow 261 Georgia churches to disaffiliate, following lingering disagreements over LGBTQ+ revisions.

The vote occurred during a special called session held in Athens, according to a news release from the conference. All churches in the Augusta area that requested to disaffiliate had their motions granted.

Of the 261 churches disaffiliating, 52 of those are based in the South East District of the conference, which includes Richmond, Columbia, Burke, Lincoln and McDuffie counties. Below are some of the area churches choosing to leave the conference.

Augusta area churches disaffiliating

  • Anthony Chapel UMC (Lincolnton)

  • Barton Chapel United Methodist Church (Augusta)

  • Berlin UMC (Hephzibah)

  • Blythe UMC

  • Burns Memorial UMC (Augusta)

  • Cokesbury UMC (Augusta)

  • Dearing UMC

  • Dunn's Chapel UMC (Appling)

  • Friendship UMC (Hephzibah)

  • Harlem UMC

  • Hephzibah UMC

  • Liberty UMC (Hephzibah)

  • Lincolnton UMC

  • Martinez UMC

  • Midway UMC (Lincolnton)

  • Mosaic UMC (Evans)

  • Salem UMC (Thomson)

  • Shiloh UMC (Appling)

  • St James UMC (Augusta)

  • St Mark UMC Washington Road (Augusta)

  • Thomson First UMC

  • Young Memorial UMC (Thomson)

This is not a complete list. A full list of churches disaffiliating in Georgia can be found at ngumc.org.

Departing churches will officially disaffiliate on Nov. 30, according to the release. The churches will have another 30 days past the disaffiliation date to fulfill the terms of the agreement.

FILE - A cross sits on top of Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church on Feb. 23, 2023. Trinity recently won a lawsuit to disaffiliate from the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
FILE - A cross sits on top of Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church on Feb. 23, 2023. Trinity recently won a lawsuit to disaffiliate from the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Why churches are splitting from the Georgia conference

In 2019, the conference adopted a new provision for the Book of Discipline related to whether members of the LGBTQ+ community should be ordained as ministers and whether UMC ministers should perform same-sex marriages, according to previous reporting.

Churches such as Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church in Augusta have openly stated they "[do] not favor such ordinations or marriages" which they will believe will be imposed in the near future, according to a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of Columbia County in February.

Although there have yet to be any official changes to the UMC's doctrine, the churches are attempting to disaffiliate prior to the decision in order to retain their property, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleges the conference repeatedly delayed the disaffiliation process, according to previous reporting.

Previous reporting: Unhappy with LGBTQ-friendly revisions, Trinity Methodist church sues to disaffiliate

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta area churches disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church