Posted By Mark Holland, Executive Director, Mainstream UMC
Mainstream UMC Co-Founders, Rev. Dr. Nanette Roberts and Rev. Dr. Mark Holland, were able to bring our appeal for a moratorium on trials directly to our Bishops from the central conferences (those outside the US) on Friday November 1. Fifteen of the central conference Bishops from Africa, Europe, and the Philippines gathered just ahead of the full Council of Bishops (COB) meeting that begins on Sunday in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.
Click here to join more than 5,800 others in the call for the moratorium on trials! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UMC_Moratorium
Our meeting with the Bishops lasted more than an hour and, in addition to the moratorium on trials, we shared a wide range of issues that are important to centrists and progressives in the US church. We expressed our deep desire to remain in mission together with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe. We expressed our joy in the reciprocal, life-giving relationships that every US annual conference share with our central conferences. We also listened carefully as the Bishops shared their joys and concerns about relations with the US church—and they have both!
Central to the conversation was the backlash in the US against the Traditional Plan and the harm the vote in St. Louis has caused. We expressed the frustration and anger of many in the US who feel like the vast majority of US delegates (along with Western Europe) followed the leadership of our Council of Bishops, while the vast majority of delegates from the central conferences ignored the Bishops and instead followed the divisive leadership of the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) to adopt the Traditional Plan. We showed how centrists and progressives voted out WCA delegates in May and June at our annual conferences and that the WCA only represents less than 25% of the US church in both numbers and resources. We also demonstrated that the WCA churches are actively withholding global apportionments from them while giving lip-service to their support, lip-service that we believe would continue if the central conferences were to join the WCA in a new denomination under the Indianapolis Plan.
The point of great agreement came as both the central conference Bishops and Mainstream UMC expressed our mutual desire to seek a regional governance plan that allows for more legislative autonomy for all and keeps the global church intact. All in the room expressed our desire not to dissolve the United Methodist Church. Mainstream UMC is delighted to report that the central conference Bishops have endorsed the Connectional Table Plan that begins the process of defining the US as a regional conference. Mainstream UMC will continue to work with global coalitions to bring this to fruition at General Conference 2020. We believe regional governance is the best hope for the global UMC.
In other big news, Bishop Kenneth Carter, President of the United Methodist Council of Bishops (COB) has called for a moratorium on all trials related to LGBTQ persons until the General Conference in May of 2020. Bishop Carter made his suggestion, along with other ideas, in an interview with the United Methodist News Service this past week. His statement came just ahead of the full Council of Bishops meeting that begins Sunday, November 3. This is the is the last meeting of the COB before the Traditional Plan takes effect January 1, 2020.
It is not too late to join Bishop Carter in calling for a moratorium on trials! Already, more than 5,800 people have signed the letter. Mainstream UMC will post the letter with all the signatures on our website, Monday, November 4, 2019. We will also forward the complete list to each of the Bishops. In order to help, please take these four actions:
Please click here to read and sign this letter to the bishops: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UMC_Moratorium
Please forward this email to everyone in your congregation and on your United Methodist contact list. We have just one more day to make our voices heard! Our strength is in our numbers.
Please call or email your bishop today at your annual conference office asking him or her to please support this moratorium. If you are not sure how to contact your bishop, click here http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/annual-conferences-directory. This will link you to your annual conference website where you can find your bishop’s phone number and email.
Please ask your congregation to pray for a moratorium during worship on Sunday, November 3. If you want a bulletin insert for Sunday morning you can download it and print it for worship. https://mainstreamumc.com/resources/for-the-local-church/
Thank you! Together we can stop the harm the judicial process inflicts on our LGBTQ clergy and allies and find an amicable path forward for the church.
If any of the web links do not work, please cut and paste them directly into your browser. Thank you.
Click here to read and sign the letter to the Bishops calling for a moratorium: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UMC_Moratorium
To support the work of Mainstream UMC, please go to www.MainstreamUMC.com/donate Thank you!
Here are more resources for local churches: https://mainstreamumc.com/resources/for-the-local-church/
Read more about the US elections of delegates: https://mainstreamumc.com/blog/76-of-us-annual-conferences-reject-traditional-plan/
Read more about the WCA withholding global apportionments: https://mainstreamumc.com/blog/wca-conferences-withhold-global-apportionments/
Read about the Connectional Table Plan: http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/connectional-table-approves-legislation-creating-new-u.s.-structure
Read the article about Bishop Carter calling for a moratorium on trials: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/bishop-suggests-hold-on-trials-trust-clause
If any of the web links do not work, please cut and paste them directly into your browser. Thank you.