Yamoussoukro (Côte d'Ivoire), June 18, 2024.
Last week, a large Protestant denomination called the United Methodist Church lost more than 1 million members in a single day when the United Methodist Church in Côte d'Ivoire (a republic in western Africa) voted to leave the denomination because of its "new liberal stance on sexual orientation and gender issues," according to Crosswalk.com.
The decision by the Côte d'Ivoire Conference of The United Methodist Church came a month after United Methodist delegates in the United States at the May 1 General Conference session approved changes within the Book of Discipline's so-called "Consent Calendar," which includes nearly two dozen policies. 692 delegates voted in favor." of the innovation, 51 opposed. The new "Gay Pastors Rule" repeals the 1984 ban on "unauthorized ministry by LGBT persons in homosexual relationships with their partners," and the new "Weddings Rule" prohibits subjecting those churches and those pastors who conduct "weddings" of gay couples to disfellowship and punishment.
There are reportedly 1.2 million followers of the United Methodist Church in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. A statement from those who wish to secede said the denomination has "drifted away from the spirit of Scripture" so that "it is no longer possible to remain in it." Notably, the United Methodist Church recently had about 10 million members in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States.
The Côte d'Ivoire Conference of the United Methodist Church may be followed by other unions of the denomination on the African continent. In Zimbabwe last week, for example, protesters gathered outside the local United Methodist Church headquarters to oppose new denominational policies.
"Our church has joined the 'rainbow' movement. This is fundamentally contrary to our African tradition and threatens the existence of humanity as a whole," the Associated Press quoted a petition from protesters in Zimbabwe as saying.
In turn, the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church issued a statement emphasizing that "while we are deeply saddened by the decision of the Ivorian Conference to separate from our denomination, we pledge to work with them going forward, including in the process of forming an autonomous Methodist church.
"While we are not unanimous in all things, the strength of our spiritual bond is in our mutual love, respect, compassion and common faith in Jesus Christ," the Council of Bishops said in a statement.
About a quarter of United Methodist Church congregations in the United States have already left their denomination. Now many of those congregations are moving to the Global Methodist Church, a new denomination established in May 2023 by conservative-minded Methodists. The Global Methodist Church's Book of Doctrine and Discipline defines marriage solely as a union between one man and one woman.
The United Methodist Church was established in 1968 by the merger of the United Evangelical Brethren Church and the Methodist Church. It is the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States after the Southern Baptist Convention and the third largest Christian denomination in the country (with the Roman Catholic Church still in first place).
Source: https://www.crosswalk.com
