An Entire Methodist Confirmation Class Rejects the membership

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ATraveller said:
The structure of the UMC requires the (name removed by moderator)ut of African and Asian jurisdictions. And their influence will continue to grow and outnumber the shrinking liberal American ones.
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I suppose that’s another thread but I do wonder when the values of African and Asian branches of not just the UMC, but all global churches will boil over when one side refuses compromise on some future issue.
 
HerCrazierHalf said:
I suppose that’s another thread but I do wonder when the values of African and Asian branches of not just the UMC, but all global churches will boil over when one side refuses compromise on some future issue.
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It’s been happening since the Reformation. Look at how many Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations. And then there are the Baptists.

The UMC’s structure could be a separate thread but the issue is vital for understanding why this stunt happened and officially backed by the congregation.
 
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That is how I felt when I was confirmed in the
Episcopal church in the 1960’s at 15. I already had questions and thought Catholicism was true.
 
My parents-in-law are members of a Methodist Church.

Does anyone think the church will split into two Methodist churches–one that supports homosexuality and one that teaches that homosexual acts are sinful?

This would enable those kids to join a Methodist church if that is their preference–not the traditional Methodist Church, but a Methodist church nonetheless.

I think this is inevitable. Those Methodists who believe that homosexuality acceptable are a substantial number of the church, not just a fringe element. They will surely leave the church, or continue to be at odds with the church. A split would bring peace and allow both sides to practice a religion that they believe is acceptable to God.

Our newspaper published a half page ad featuring the signatures of all the Methodist pastors in Northern Illinois who disagree with the recent ruling of the Methodist Church concerning homosexuality. (I think that this same ad probably appeared in newspapers across the U.S.) There were literally hundreds of names on that list. I can’t see how these pastors can continue to call themselves Methodist if they have such a strong disagreement with their church. I can’t see how they are comfortable consorting with other pastors and church officials who voted in favor of traditional Methodist teachings regarding homosexuality.

So–split? Or not?

BTW–this issue and the conflict in the Methodist Church has caused my father-in-law to look very seriously at the Catholic Church. He routinely attends Bible study with me, and he has stated that he would become a Catholic if it were not for his wife. (She has advancing Alzheimers and doesn’t recognize any differences between churches now, but when she was well, she was vehemently opposed to Catholicism.)

I’m thinking that perhaps other Methodists will consider Catholicism over this issue. the liturgies are very similar.
 
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ATraveller said:
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HerCrazierHalf:
" the entire 8-student confirmation class at First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska announced that they will not become members of the congregation right now.
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That’ll likely mean they’ll never be members of the UMC. The structure of the UMC requires the (name removed by moderator)ut of African and Asian jurisdictions. And their influence will continue to grow and outnumber the shrinking liberal American ones. The attempt by liberals in America to limit African and Asian involvement failed so the UMC isn’t going to liberalise.

The congregation, which officially backs this spectacle, could just leave and form their own religion. The UMC’s traditional option allows a gracious exit (unlike some other liberal denominations). Why not take it? The split will occur one way or another. It can be a clean break or a messy one involving lawsuits.
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  • The UMC action was not a conservative victory as implied in the article. The liberals are building momentum, mainly through the media.
  • The moderates are practically bribing the liberal congregations to leave. But few will, because they want to take control of the whole UMC.
  • As time goes on, moderates, who are more interested in evangelism, will get sick of repeated battles, and constant trashing by the liberal media.
  • Many moderates and conservatives will leave. Unlike the Left, they hate the denominational battles.
  • After gay rights, the next goal is defending abortion on demand.
 
My dear Methodist brothers and sisters in Christ, you are most welcome to come explore and consider our Catholic faith, most likely the faith of your ancestors before the Wesley bothers ever existed in this world. What is happening now within the Methodist church is no different than when others such as Luther, Zwingli, Smith, and the many other founders of Protestant churches had disagreements. They split, and new churches were formed in their images.

Now Protestantism is a free for all, no disrespect, but an easy observation from someone who attended different denominations when away from my Catholic faith. The many conflicting doctrines, both on matters of faith and morals are self evident as one can drive down a street and see the many different churches, even right next to each other.

PLEASE come home and let us unite in the Body of Christ, the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of our faith. Come let the Sacraments, real grace from our Lord, not mearly symbols, enrich your faithful life!!!
 
Personally I don’t think Baptism…confirmation…first communion have any deep meanings other than they are Catholic traditions… cultural practices…pretty little girls in frilly white dresses and boys in their white shirts…parents taking all the photos and smiling…when it’s over lucky if a quarter of those parents will rarely if ever take their kids to mass again…Christmas…Easter…you can’t move in church…rest of the year there’s ample room…Catholic marriage…must have a church wedding…the handsome bride and groom…flowers to adorn the church…all looks so nice…the priest reciting the ceremony…the loving couple pledging their love to each other before God…many will probably never set foot in church again…or only now and then…when their kids need to be baptized etc…if they’re not already divorced…sorry for sounding so negative…but truth is…most Catholics don’t follow their faith apart from the cultural traditional aspect of it…of course then there are those Catholics who have a deep commitment to Christ and their Catholic faith and a church that will never give in to the ways of the world…sadly we’re probably not much different from other denominations in many other ways
 
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The Catholic church has already split over this issue and other issues such
as female priests. Now there are
Ecumenical Catholic Communities which allow everything the Catholic church does not. They do not follow
canon law but say they share Catholic theology and liturgy. They identify as
Catholic. There are 2 of these churches in our city. They also say they have apostolic succession I believe.
 
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I have never seen anything like this. This is a testament to the corrosive nature of our current culture and a blackeye on the parents who catechized their children so poorly that they would rather reject Christ for the world.
 
Personally, could you foresee mass conversions to the Catholic Church from (forgive my polarization) from the more “liberal” denominations like the mainline churches over time especially if the denominations become more liberal (again forgive me for polarizing and politicizing religion)? Forgive me for age-dating you, but wasn’t Mainline Protestantism (Lutheran, Methodists, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptists etc) a cornerstone/hallmark of American culture and now it seems that their numbers are hemorrhaging (that said Catholics aren’t doing too well either), do you think despite demographic crashes, American’s Catholic Church will continue to stand strong and endure though it might not be the easiest of times, that said, aren’t there more traditional denominations that seem to be doing well or are stable like the Presbyterian Church of America?
 
I would say this has been happening since the 1950’s at least, perhaps earlier as to the poor
catechism and children reaching adulthood and choosing the secular world over God.
Some may return after awhile.
 
commenter said:
The UMC action was not a conservative victory as implied in the article. The liberals are building momentum, mainly through the media.
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I would hope no one saw it as such because at least one UMC congregation openly went against the Book of Discipline after the conference earlier this year. No disciplinary action yet as far as I’m aware.
The media, of course, doesn’t care about the facts here because the ends justify the means. American conservatives will be in an uncomfortable situation but the non-American jurisdictions are likely obliviously to the smears and probably don’t even care if they’re aware.
commenter said:
After gay rights, the next goal is defending abortion on demand.
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Already happening.
 
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If they were going to split, I’d imagine one would have happened decades ago over abortion. The UMC accepted the secular stand abortion, I expect that they will bend to the current secular stand on same sex marriage, etc.
 
I’m not thinking so. They’re likely going to end up with the same Global South v West split that has hit the Anglican Communion in the end. The two positions have moved so far from each other that it would seem to be a forgone conclusion that either individual parishes will leave or group together and leave. Either more liberal leaning should the UMC hold pat or conservative if they don’t.
 
Padres1969 said:
Either more liberal leaving should the UMC hold pat or conservative if they don’t.
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Some posts and news articles imply the UMC is currently under conservative leadership, and they won a victory. A better way to describe it would be that the whole denomination has moved 9 steps to the Left in recent years. The radicals wanted to take another step Left, but the liberals in charge are for the moment pausing, stalling on this. It’s not a question of “if”, but “when” they take this, and other steps. It can only go in one direction.

The radicals can lose 9 battles in a row on this issue, but if they win the 10th, it’s established forever.
 
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