Special Called Sessions & Disaffiliation Conversations

There have been lot of conversations happening in The United Methodist world within the last week, especially if you are in the South Central Jurisdiction. (Remember from our last article, we are located in the South Central Jurisdiction and the entire state of Texas is a part of the SCJ.)

This past Saturday, December 3, both the Texas Annual Conference and the Northwest Texas Conference held Special Called Sessions of their respective Annual Conferences. The agenda for both conferences were centered around the discussion of disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church. Both the Texas Conference and the Northwest Texas Conference voted to approve the disaffiliation of churches from their conferences. It is believed that most of the churches disaffiliating are planning to join the Global Methodist Church. (What is the Global Methodist Church? The GMC is the more conservative break-off branch from the UMC that disagrees with a sizable portion of the general UMC on issues of marriage equality, the ordination of LGBTQIA+, and human sexuality, along with other issues.)

On Saturday, the Texas Annual Conference (TAC) approved the disaffiliation of 294 out of their overall 598 congregations or 49% separating from the UMC. The Northwest Texas Conference (NWTX) approved the disaffiliation of 145 churches that voted to leave. That breaks down to just a little less than 75% of the overall 201 congregations. This is a total 439 churches on Saturday that were approved to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church effective on January 1, 2023.

Before the TAC and NWTX conferences held their Special Called Sessions, both the Central Texas Conference and the North Texas Conference gave the green light to a number of churches in both conferences to disaffiliate. So far, the Central Texas Conference has allowed the departure of 81 churches from its overall 185 congregations. Whereas, the North Texas Conference has given the okay for 44 churches to disaffiliate from their overall 276 congregations. Currently, out of the over 30,000 United Methodist Churches in the U.S., less than 2000 have chosen to disaffiliate, with a large number coming from Texas.

So, what does this mean for us?

This logically means there is lots of stress and uncertainty currently present and being felt in The United Methodist world. But this does not mean that this is the end. This is a time when we should be leaning into our Methodist Connectionalism more than ever. There are those who will be left in their respective conferences with no ties to a local United Methodist congregation. Since the beginning of Methodism, connection has been central to our system. Our denomination to this day has been designed to be a connectional system which enables us “to carry out our mission in unity and strength.” (Book of Discipline, ¶701)

Through our connectional system we are able to accomplish more and be in relationship with more than any one church, ministry, or person could ever alone. Travis Park Church holds a unique position in our conference and the world, and we should be willing to extend our hands and hearts in love to others in our overall denomination who are currently finding themselves alone and separated from the overall United Methodist Church. Our fight is not over yet, but we are not alone in this. As a young, queer person I give thanks and praise to God for congregations like Travis Park Church and the people who are a part our wonderful church who actively live into our mission of “unconditional love and justice in action.”

– Grace and Peace, Pastor Shiloh

Read About More UMC Happenings

United With Faith group is back together and meeting in person tomorrow (Thursday) at 7:00 pm

United with Faith (UWF) - formerly known as United Methodist Women (UMW) and Women of Wisdom (WOW) - is meeting up This Thursday to discuss the exciting new future of the group! This is a GREAT time for new people to attend!

Our connection is to a larger organization (United Women in Faith). As it fosters spiritual growth and develops leaders, United Women in Faith seeks to improve the lives of women, children and youth in the United States and internationally. We also serve in the Corazon Kitchen every 5th Sunday!

The Travis Park Church group fully supports all who wish to be a part...all genders are welcome! We are calling our group United WITH Faith instead of United Women in Faith.

Please join the group on Realm! You can also email Mary Jo Villalobos or Shirley Watkins to get connected!

Joyful Moments...they are everywhere this Advent!

Mistletoe the Elf (they/them) is at Travis Park Church, reminding us to find the joy in everyday moments.

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to follow the fun!

Do you have questions about any of the groups and events mentioned? Are we missing something? Please email us as info@travispark.org.