By Jay Therrell
March 14, 2023
Last week, I wrote an article about trends the WCA has noticed since the beginning of this year. In that article, I mentioned that at an increasing rate, retired traditionalist clergy are being targeted if they fill a pulpit or worship at a Global Methodist Church (or an independent church that has disaffiliated from the UMC). One particularly egregious example is a document released by Bishop Cynthia Fierro-Harvey of the Texas Conference that can be read here. Retired clergy have been told that they cannot participate in any way with a Global Methodist Church or a disaffiliated church without risking charges or signaling their withdrawal from ministry.
I have been deeply dismayed at the treatment of retired clergy. Our retired pastors are men and women who have given decades of their lives to the cause of Jesus. They have worked hard and sacrificed much to share the Good News. They deserve better treatment than they’re receiving.
Retired Clergy and the Next Chapter of Ministry
I’ve always said that there is no retirement plan in the Bible. God calls us to be in ministry until our last breath. When pastors retire, they don’t leave ministry, they simply turn the proverbial page to a new chapter.
It’s not easy trying to decide where to attend worship in retirement. If you retire in the same community in which you last served a church, a retired pastor must navigate demonstrating good boundaries. The new pastor may not be thrilled with trying to learn their new congregation while also having his/her predecessor sitting in the pews. (Additionally, many annual conferences have rules that say retired clergy cannot worship in a church they’ve served or at least must wait for a period of time.) Sometimes pastors retire to a community where there isn’t a United Methodist Church, or the church leans so liberal that it is a bad theological fit. In other cases, a retired pastor may want to worship with his/her family who attend a church in a denomination other than United Methodist.
It’s beyond me to think that anyone would care where a retired pastor chooses to worship. In fact, the retired traditionalist clergy who have been contacting me have pointed out that they have retired progressive clergy friends who attend churches in other denominations (Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, etc.) and they’ve never been contacted by a DS about their choice of church. It seems only to be traditionalist clergy choosing to worship at a Global Methodist Church that receive a phone call. Targeting clergy who have given their lives to serve inside the church is wrong.
Additionally, retired clergy are required by the Book of Discipline (paragraph 357.5) to associate with a charge conference and once a year file a report with the charge conference if they have performed a baptism, a wedding, or other pastoral functions. As a former district superintendent, I can say that some retired clergy are careful to file a report. Others forget to do so. In all honesty, it’s easy to see how they can forget. The United Methodist Church has become so laden with reports, most retired pastors are thrilled not to have to think about them anymore. I can tell you no district superintendent that I knew spent much time ensuring all retired clergy followed this administrative provision. There were too many other issues that required attention.
Since the start of 2023, I have received a steady stream of calls and emails from retired traditionalist clergy who have received phone calls from their district superintendents. Typically, the DS says s/he has “heard” that the retired pastor has recently preached at a Global Methodist Church or an independent church that disaffiliated from the UMC. Usually, the DS goes on to say that the retired pastor cannot do so because it is disloyal to The United Methodist Church. Several have been warned that if they continue to do so they risk being brought up on a charge of disobedience to the order and discipline of The United Methodist Church.
These same retired traditionalist pastors have retired progressive friends who also fill pulpits in churches that aren’t UMC, and their progressive friends never hear from their district superintendent. It appears that a hypocritical standard is quickly arising that cabinets only care about retirees that offer to help a GMC or independent, disaffiliated church that is in need. The WCA contends for accountability. If rules are being enforced against traditionalist retired clergy, they should be enforced against progressive retired pastors as well.
Retiree Health Benefits
Retired clergy that choose to transfer their credentials to the Global Methodist Church are also discovering that in some annual conferences doing so ends their retiree health benefits. Retiree health benefits differ significantly from conference to conference. In some places the conferences provide a supplemental insurance policy to assist with costs not paid by Medicare. Others provide small stipends to retired pastors, and the pastors can use the stipends to help with healthcare costs. Some don’t offer any benefit at all. Some conferences allow the benefit to vest at the pastor’s retirement, and they receive the benefit regardless of whether they’re part of The United Methodist Church or the Global Methodist Church. Sadly, some annual conferences have chosen to make the benefit dependent on remaining in the UMC.
I encourage all retired clergy (or pastors considering retirement) to check with the benefits officer of their annual conference to learn whether their retiree health benefit vests at retirement. If it does not, the pastor will need to consider whether the benefit is enough of a financial help that losing it would be detrimental. There are retirees who have difficulty affording medical costs even with Medicare.
Retiree health benefits should not be taken away from clergy that transfer to the GMC. These men and women have worked hard and sacrificed much. They have contributed to these benefits through their own dollars and through payments local churches have made. Retirees don’t lose their retirement benefits at Wespath if they move from the UMC to the GMC. Why should their retiree health benefits be any different? I recognize that the present denominational drama has become toxic, but can’t we all agree that our senior citizens should be respected and allowed to keep a benefit they’ve earned?
Annual conferences that do not vest retiree health benefits should work to correct this problem at their next meeting, and it should be made retroactive to cover all retired clergy.
Cancel Culture
Targeting traditionalist retired pastors is a continuation of cancel culture. Men and women who gave their lives to the church and who want to move to a church that better aligns with their theology are being penalized. Retirees deserve our respect and gratitude. Instead, they’re receiving contempt and are being cancelled.
The United Methodist Church can do better. I pray it will.
The Rev. Jay Therrell is the president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church.