United Methodist
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Thoughts on the Correspondence Related to Wesley Memorial UMC
I have received several messages related to the status of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in High Point, North Carolina and the various emails, letters, and more that have gone out advising folks to vote for or against the disaffiliation of this congregation. I want to provide some insight based on polity to the situation… Continue reading
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Judicial Council Item 1023-01
As we turn to the upcoming Judicial Council Docket for October, the first one asks questions of parliamentary authority. This request comes from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference related to a parliamentary matter..You can read the full document (linked here, scroll down to the list), but essentially, a panel panel presentation related to a potential strategic… Continue reading
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United Methodist Views and Actions on the Israel-Palestine Conflict
As the conflict in Israel/Palestine continues to grow, I wanted to share the United Methodist views and resources on this matter so that clergy and laity can better educate their congregations and communities. First, we do not tie the current state of Israel to the historic/biblical expression of this, nor do we believe that this… Continue reading
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Updates on Trial for Bishop Carcaño
(An earlier version of this appeared on my Facebook page on July 13, 2023) In United Methodist News in the past week, a Trial Date has been set for Bishop Carcaño, who has been under suspension for over a year..This trial is a church trial, not a US court trial. It has similarities, but is… Continue reading
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WNCC Petition 18: A reactionary historical repeat
I am headed up to Lake Junaluska on Wednesday, and I am glancing over the petitions again, and one comes back to me that bothers me. I am not usually one to encourage votes one way or another, but this one is something I passionate about, due to my work. Petition 18: Voting at Church… Continue reading
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DISAFFILIATION RUMORS, MYTHS, AND OPPORTUNITIES – #12: North Georgia and Florida Lawsuits
Two legal issues related to disaffiliation have been in the news this week. The first one: The lawsuit against the Florida Conference has been dismissed for similar reasons as the Western North Carolina suit: separation of church and state/The UMC has it’s own governing and judicial bodies to handle this. The second one: A lawsuit… Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #11: Three General Conferences?
A version of this post first appeared on my Facebook Page on March 22nd, 2023. A UM News Article about some Judicial Council rulings. They came down in one decision. The first ruling is that we can have elections if there are vacancies in the delegations for whatever reason. The second, and more interesting thing… Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #8: The Lewis Center Report
There is a report going around from the Lewis Center ( a church and ministry research and leadership development center at Wesley Theological Seminary). It gives us a quantitative look at some of the aspects of the disaffiliating churches so far. Here is a concise summary from the report (full report linked here): The areas… Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities – #7: Voting
This post originally appeared on my Facebook (Facebook.com/j.lemastersmith on February 14, 2023). Two questions that regularly come up are: 1) Do we have to vote? 2) Do we have to have speakers from both sides come? Short answer: no. Long answer: No one is required to vote. Voting is only required if you are strongly… Continue reading
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Disaffiliation Rumors, Myths, and Opportunities # 6 – Appointments, Communications, and Rural/Small Churches
This post originally appeared on my Facebook page, facebook.com/j.lemastersmith, on January 30th, 2023 Another rumor circulating is that The UMC does not care about the small and rural church (you could also include immigrant, ethnic, and inner-city churches, but I also know less about those systems). Some responses: “We ask for a licensed local and… Continue reading
Jonathan LeMaster-Smith 