A United Methodist Church congregation in Virginia plans to join a theologically conservative alternative to the mainline Protestant denomination due to issues with the UMC’s ongoing debate over homosexuality.
Holston View UMC of Weber City, which has over 300 members, recently announced that it is pursuing affiliation with the Global Methodist Church and leaving the UMC.
Meant to be a denomination where theologically conservative United Methodists can join to leave their church’s seemingly endless debate over LGBT issues, the GMC is scheduled to officially launch this Sunday.
A significant issue was incidents of some UMC leaders refusing to enforce Book of Discipline rules banning the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions.
Holston View Pastor Chuck Griffin told The Christian Post on Tuesday that his congregation had not yet left the UMC but rather it was planning to pursue separation once “once a clear path develops.”
“Our church’s top administrative board, the Church Leadership Council, voted 10-0 on March 24 to announce our intent, with one person abstaining and one absent,” he explained.
“We delayed the public announcement until we felt we had fully communicated the decision to church members.”
Griffin spoke well of the GMC, referring to the denomination as “the obvious continuation of traditional Methodism, which goes back to the 18th century.”
“The Methodist movement traditionally has treated Scripture as the inspired word of God, emphasizing specific biblical concepts like growing spiritually through regular engagement with God’s abundant grace,” Griffin told CP.