July 26, 2023
By Rev. Jay Therrell
As we look toward the end of this calendar year, the 2553 disaffiliation process will sunset as the paragraph will no longer be effective after December 31. A small handful of annual conferences will continue to allow churches to exit utilizing the paragraph 2549 closure process. We can’t know for certain, but we think a reasonable estimate of the number of churches that will depart The United Methodist Church by year’s end will be approximately 7,200.
We have much to celebrate in helping these churches find their freedom. At the same time, however, there is still much work to be done. Almost all of those 7,000+ churches come from the United States. Our brothers and sisters in Africa, Asia, and Europe could not use paragraph 2553. The president of the Council of Bishops, Tom Bickerton, declared by fiat that paragraph 2553 was not valid outside the U.S. Never mind the fact that the Council of Bishops president has no authority to make such a pronouncement because bishops outside the United States have followed it.
Some churches in Europe have been able to depart the UMC, and several more are working their way to freedom by using paragraph 572 which allows an annual conference outside the United States to become autonomous. That said the vast majority of our friends in Africa and the Philippines are trapped.
For years, our African and Filipino friends in the faith have stood by our side helping to maintain the orthodoxy of The United Methodist Church. We have worked together at General Conference to prevent progressives from watering down the Good News of Jesus and the doctrine and theology of John Wesley. We owe them much.
It would be a mistake not to continue our mission to help them. So often traditionalists are accused of being “colonialists.” It seems to me that there is nothing more colonialist than progressive bishops denying churches outside the United States access to paragraph 2553. Bishops are determining the future of those churches without allowing the congregations to have any say. It’s wrong.
The Wesleyan Covenant Association will continue to stand beside our brothers and sisters in Europe, Africa, and Asia. We will stand beside those who have stood beside us. Our mission is not over until we can help them to have the same opportunities that American churches have had since 2019.
As churches are disaffiliating and turning the page to a new chapter, understandably, they don’t want anything more to do with disaffiliation. They’re tired and want to move to a new future. Yet that turns our backs on the people that have helped us. It’s time for us to do everything we can to help ensure the WCA has the resources it needs to help our dear friends.
What can you do? You can continue to renew your membership in the WCA. Doing so ensures we have the financial resources to help our African, Asian, and European brothers and sisters. You can also make a financial gift to the WCA to further our work. Lastly, you can stand with us in prayer that the Holy Spirit will move upon the hearts of the delegates to the 2024 General Conference to allow churches outside the U.S. to have the same freedom that American churches have had.
I was born and raised in the American South. We have a saying that goes something like this, “You dance with the one who brung you.” The meaning is that you stay loyal to the people who helped you, and you make sure you have their backs. That time is now. Our loyal brothers and sisters across the oceans have stood by us in our times of greatest need. We must do the same.
The Rev. Jay Therrell is the president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and is an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church.