Ahead of United Methodist gathering, African churches weigh their future
Time:2024-05-21 16:33:40 Source:businessViews(143)
The United Methodist Church lost one-fourth of its U.S. churches in a recent schism, with conservatives departing over disputes on sexuality and theology.
Now, with the approach of its first major legislative gathering in several years, the question is whether the church can avert a similar outcome elsewhere in the world, where about half its members live.
The question is particularly acute in Africa, home to the vast majority of United Methodists outside the U.S. Most of its bishops favor staying, but other voices are calling for regional conferences to disaffiliate.
At the upcoming General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, delegates will tackle a wide range of proposals – from repealing the church’s ban on same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ people, to creating more autonomy for regional conferences to set such rules, to making it easier for international churches to leave the denomination.
You may also like
- The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
- Canadian police link 4 women killed in the 1970s to dead American serial sex offender
- Explosion of WWII
- Tyson Fury meets Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia
- Shohei Ohtani's first walk
- A Chicago teen entered college at 10. At 17, she earned a doctorate
- Democratic South Carolina House member has law license suspended after forgery complaint
- Buffalo Bills promote Matt Bazirgan to director of college scouting in series of scouting moves
- French sports minister calls for sanctions after Monaco player tapes over anti