(The Christian Post) A group of United Methodist Church members have urged their bishops to approve a plan to allow congregations to leave the denomination now, rather than wait for legislation for separation to be passed at next year’s General Conference.
The UMC has been embroiled in a divisive debate over its biblically-based stance that says homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching,” with many churches expecting to leave once the denomination approves a more gracious dismissal process at the 2022 General Conference.
An open letter posted to the website acalltograce.com and signed by several pastors, seminary professors, and other church leaders expressed concern about the continued postponing of General Conference, which was originally supposed to happen in May 2020.