United Methodist Church

General Conference

Update: June 20, 2022

As many are aware, General Conference – the body that sets official policy for The United Methodist Church – was originally scheduled to meet in May of 2020.  The COVID pandemic prevented that meeting and two others subsequently scheduled in 2021 and 2022.  In March, it was announced that this meeting would be postponed a third time until 2024 – due to long visa wait times for delegates coming from outside the United States.

This delay has raised anxiety in some congregations and among many individual United Methodists.  Recently, our District Superintendent – the Rev. Dr. Margie Crawford – tried to address people’s questions during Listening Sessions which she offered in various locations around the Midwest District.  Our Michigan Conference has also prepared extensive information which can be accessed here: The Future of The UMC.

It is anticipated that there will be some splintering of the UMC both before and after the next General Conference.  Already on May 1 of this year, the Global Methodist Church launched as a conservative alternative to the UMC, holding the traditional stance on marriage and ordination with regard to LGBTQ+ persons.  

At the present time, there is nothing that our congregation needs to do, except continue to be strong in mission and ministry.  No congregational vote is required, except for those churches that want to disaffiliate from the UMC.  Four such churches did disaffiliate at our recent Annual Conference meeting in Traverse City.  Other disaffiliations are anticipated in the months and years ahead.  A threshold of 2/3 of voting church members is required for any decision to leave the denomination.  We are not planning to hold any such vote at GUM Church.

If you have additional questions about this, please speak to Pastor Sherri.  You may reach her at: PastorSherri@gumonline.org or 269-405-0002.