Over the weekend, the United Methodist Church (UMC) approved the separation of 33 Texas churches from the denomination as congregations continue to leave over disagreements on LGBTQ+ issues.
The departure was approved by delegates of the Rio Texas Conference of the UMC during a special session on Saturday in San Antonio.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, hundreds of congregations across America have left the UMC over disputes regarding LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriage.
Both LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriage are officially prohibited within the UMC. However, some more traditional congregations have sought disaffiliation from the UMC over a perceived lack of enforcement of these prohibitions.
“Today several congregations decided they needed to leave The United Methodist Church,” said Rio Texas Conference Bishop Robert Schnase in a news release, per The Dallas Morning News.
“Although we do not desire anyone to leave, I wish nothing but God’s best for them,” Schnase said.
The Dallas Express reached out to Bishop Schnase for further comment but received no response by press time.
The Rio Texas Conference included 350 churches across Texas before Saturday’s vote.
A complete list of the congregations that disaffiliated can be found here.
The UMC is allowing churches to separate for “reasons of conscience” regarding LGBTQ+ issues as long as the disaffiliation process is initiated before the end of this year, according to the Central Texas UMC Book of Discipline.
Meanwhile, 193 churches in Alabama and Florida split from the UMC on Sunday.
“This is heavy stuff,” said Alabama-West Florida Conference Bishop David Graves, per AL.com. “It’s overwhelming and at times it’s paralyzing.”
“Division is of the devil,” Graves said.
The Alabama-West conference used to have 511 churches. Now, it has 318.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, 41 churches here in North Texas were approved to separate from the UMC in March.
North Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz said this vote followed many years of discussion regarding LGBTQ+ issues within the church.
Furthermore, over 400 congregations throughout Texas disaffiliated from the UMC in December.
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