186 churches file suit against United Methodist Church for not allowing disaffiliation over LGBT issues

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The United Methodist Church is being sued by 186 of its congregations in Georgia after it put a “pause” on allowing anymore churches to disaffiliate over an ongoing strenuous debate within the denomination on LGBT issues, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association of North Georgia filed the lawsuit against the UMC North Georgia Conference in the Superior Court in Cobb County last week.

Although the UMC’s Book of Discipline prohibits same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay clergy, many of the denomination’s leaders have refused to follow these rules in recent years. As a result, hundreds of conservative churches have voted to leave the denomination: over 1,800 churches had their disaffiliation request approved last year.

The lawsuit filed last week arose after the North Georgia Conference decided in December to put a “pause” on the disaffiliation process on the grounds that local churches had been misled and subjected to misinformation about what the process entailed. “We have significant concerns about this misinformation and are well aware that it has the potential to do irreparable harm,” the Conference said in a statement. “We do not have confidence in the validity of upcoming church conference disaffiliation votes.”

Asserting that it had resorted to legal action with a “heavy heart,” the Wesleyan Covenant Association of North Georgia said, “We recognize that taking legal action against the UMC is a drastic step. Be assured that every possible option has been explored to avoid this moment.”

“We trust that this present course will restore the process so we all can continue on this journey toward disaffiliation,” the WCA added.

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