The two camps are divided over the question the UMC has been debating for decades — the church’s stance on homosexuality.
“Since the formation of The United Methodist Church over 50 years ago, members have engaged in a passionate debate to define church beliefs and relationships with LGBTQ persons in the church,” a spokesperson for the UMC’s Michigan Conference stated, according to WXMI-TV.
“The root of this conflict is how United Methodists interpret the Bible.”
The UMC is the third-largest Christian denomination in the U.S. The debate over same-sex marriage and the ordination of people in same-sex relationships has been heated at times.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit by over 30 congregations that sued a regional body of The United Methodist Church and its bishop, accusing the denomination of an unfair disaffiliation process.
Last November, a group of 38 congregations filed a lawsuit against the UMC Western North Carolina Conference, its board of trustees and its bishop, Kenneth H. Carter, arguing that the regional body had an unfair disaffiliation process.
North Carolina Superior Court Judge Richard L. Doughton issued an oral ruling on Monday, in which he granted the Conference’s motions to dismiss the departing churches’ lawsuit.
The disafiliation process requires the individual churches to pay the church to the church and land they've already pay for. This is holding some churches hostage.
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https://www.christianpost.com/news/judge-sides-with-umc-over-disaffiliation-process-rejects-suit.html
The disafiliation process requires the individual churches to pay the church to the church and land they've already pay for. This is holding some churches hostage.