2 local churches join new Methodist denomination
Members of a church denomination should operate like athletes on a team, said Dan Gildner, pastor of Grace Church in Perrysburg.
“It’s really important to have everyone working on the same page and for the same purpose,” he said. “The United Methodist Church has been fighting over a lot of different issues for years, and it’s been wearisome.”
That’s largely why his congregation has left the UMC. Grace Church, with a 450-person congregation, and Toledo’s Church of the Cross, with a 130-person congregation, are the first and so far only churches in Lucas County and Wood County to disaffiliate from the denomination amid an ongoing split that’s rocked the international organization.
Both voted in October to disaffiliate and join the Global Methodist Church, which formed in May, 2022, by theologically conservative Methodists in response to years of debate and disagreement within the UMC.
Eighty congregations in western Ohio have so far disaffiliated through a formal process, according to the UMC. The West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church affirmed requests from these churches, representing 8.4 percent of the conference, to exit the UMC during a special session held in November effective Dec. 31, 2022.
Four of the 80 regional churches come from the Maumee Watershed District, which encompasses Greater Toledo. In addition to Grace Church and Church of the Cross, Liberty Chapel in Henry County joined the Global United Methodist Church effective Jan. 1. Gibsonburg Community Church in Sandusky County is now an independent church, according to its website.
While the formation of the Global Methodist Church is commonly attributed to teachings on sexuality, neither of the two Toledo-area churches that are now Global Methodist said inclusion was a significant contributing factor to the decision. Instead, pastors said they appreciated the unity that the Global Methodist Church offered.
Pastor Gildner said there was a disconnect in the United Methodist Church between beliefs on paper and practicing them consistently across the denomination.
“We were excited about the Global Methodist Church’s consistency in theology, its commitment to share the love of Jesus, and its desire to be spiritually connected at all levels,” Pastor Gildner said. “The United Methodist Church has been embroiled in disagreement for decades, and our church has been watching that and strongly desired to be a part of a church that had agreement … on what we believe and how we live.”
Joel Schutte, pastor at Church of the Cross, also attributed the decision to persistent arguing.
“People weren’t treating each other the way that both sides believe that all persons deserve respect, have significance, all people are created in the image of our father in heaven,” Pastor Schutte said. “We want to behave like that toward all folks, even if we’re in disagreement.”
He said the Global Methodist ideology — including its commitment to traditional values and Scripture — better aligns with the mission and vision of his congregation.
When it comes to inclusion, Pastor Schutte said the doctrinal books from both Methodist sects state that all people are welcome.
“And that means all,” Pastor Schutte said. “Anyone is welcome in our church. We’re committed to sharing the historic teaching of the Christian faith with folks who are here. … As long as people put their hope in Jesus, you’re welcome to take communion with us and take part in our community.
“Church of the Cross has been very intentional in embracing the whole community and not just on issues of gender and human sexuality, but also on issues of race and socioeconomic status and disability.”
Bishop Gregory Palmer, who leads the West Ohio Conference of the UMC, said churches who left under Paragraph 2553, a 2019 addendum to the UMC Book of Discipline, reasoned that “they believe that they’ve come to a place of impasse about the church and the questions of human sexuality.” The addendum outlined the disaffiliation process over issues related to sexuality, while continuing the existing and greatly debated ban of ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals under the United Methodist Church.
“I’m a bishop of the church. It is my responsibility to uphold the teachings of the church,” Bishop Palmer said. “I also, as a United Methodist, can work to reform the church in ways that I would like to see the church move forward in the future. But I support and work under the discipline of the United Methodist Church.”
Similar to the current UMC teaching, the Global Methodist Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline states its belief that human sexuality is to be exercised in a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman. And while it affirms “a scriptural view of sexuality and gender,” it calls on Global Methodists to “welcome all to experience the redemptive grace of Jesus” and to be “a safe place of refuge, hospitality, and healing for any who may have experienced brokenness in their sexual lives.”
Progressive Methodists continue to push for ongoing conversation among UMC leaders, and several congregations have also voted to disaffiliate.
Pastor Gildner commented on his approach to teachings of LGBTQ inclusion.
“I think no matter what you believe, if you don’t have the heart of Jesus, you can do harm,” Pastor Gildner said. “So we approached it from a heart of compassion. [We] wanted to know why the United Methodist Church believes what they believe and so we just talked about it.”
More than 80 percent of Church of the Cross’ congregation voted in agreement with this decision during a church conference on Oct. 2. Those who did not agree, Pastor Schutte said, tended to have a politicized idea of the issue.
“The reality is loving people hasn’t changed,” he said, “and it’s our commitment to open the doors of our community to everyone. Once that was kind of reaffirmed and then demonstrated in our behavior and our continuing work in the community, I think that’s really brought a sense of calm.”
Pastor Schutte is not aware of anyone having left Church of the Cross in response to its decision, but said three families have decided to join the church from other UMC congregations.
Pastor Gildner declined to share the percentage of Grace Church members who voted against disaffiliation, but said the UMC requires two-thirds of professing members to support a decision to leave in order for it to be approved by the conference. Some dissenters have moved to another church and some have stayed at Grace Church. Because of the time they’ve spent together, even if one person leaves, Pastor Gildner believes “it’s significant.”
Compared to the 80 disaffiliations last year, Kay Panovec, director of communications for the West Ohio Conference of the UMC, said six churches disaffiliated for various reasons between 2019 and 2021.
As of Jan. 1, 872 churches are affiliated with the West Ohio Conference of the UMC. Churches that wish to disaffiliate under the provisions of Paragraph 2553 must do so by Dec. 31. Bishop Palmer said he guesses an equal number of churches will disaffiliate by the end of this year as did last year.
During the discerning period, UMC leadership had encouraged churches to “prayerfully consider what is your faithful next step to follow Jesus,” Pastor Gildner recalled.
“This vote for me, and I believe for our church, was how do we stay faithful to Jesus?” Pastor Gildner said. “This is what the congregation voted, and we bless churches and pastors that vote otherwise.”
Ms. Panovec said conference leaders “bless and release” churches that have left “to do ministry in a way that works for you.”
Toledo’s Pastor Schutte believes that no matter the denomination, churches should continue to work and serve together.
“This is tough because we love the United Methodist Church and we continue to pray for it,” Pastor Schutte said. “We pray for them, we pray for the congregations that are remaining, we pray for congregations that are moving in different directions than the Global Methodist Church. So there’s really plenty of places for all of us to share Christ’s love.”
—Sarah Readdean