I wanted to bring The Fount Family up to date on our efforts to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church. This process began officially when the Church Conference voted unanimously to disaffiliate back on October 19, 2022. It is now April, 2023, and the property appraisal has been done. But many of the other items required of us to disaffiliate have not been presented to us by the annual conference. Nevertheless, we are estimating that the annual conference wants $3.1 million from us.

Clearly, for a congregation of 50 members, $3.1 million is way too much! So, we have begun the process of offering to negotiate with the annual conference to try and find some way to reach a compromise that will enable the conference to uphold their responsibilities and will allow us to go our way, as we clearly want to do. We have not heard back from the bishop or the conference trustees whether or not they are willing to negotiate. That’s our prayer point right now. Pray that grace will abound and that a spirit of fairness will prevail.

The annual conference will hold a special session for the sole purpose of voting on disaffiliations some time in the fall. Our goal is to have negotiated a reasonable process and present our church for disaffiliation at that special annual conference session.

Much is riding on this process. Not only does The Fount depend on a favorable conclusion for our on-going life and ministry, but so does La Cima, Vietnamese Evangelical Church (VEC), Free Life Community Church, our Preschool at The Fount, the Orange County Photo Club, Boy Scout Troop 567, and many others groups and clubs that use our facilities. If we lose this struggle, there will be a lot of ministries and organizations that will either cease or will be homeless. So, it is not just The Fount. And yet, it IS The Fount; a church with a nearly 60 year history in Fountain Valley. Stop and think for just a moment about all of the people who have been touched and ministered to over those 60 years! To lose the buildings that we have paid for, maintained and improved over the years would be a tragedy.

That’s why, more than ever, we need to commit to prayer. Every morning, several of us gather for Morning Prayer on Zoom, and we lift up this matter, among others, to the Throne of Grace. You are welcome to join us at 7:30 AM each morning. Contact the church office for the Zoom link. But whether or not you can join us for Morning Prayer, please commit this whole disaffiliation to prayer. Every day. Plead with God for favor. Pray for our new bishop, Dottie Escobedo-Frank. Pray for the Conference Trustees President, Rev. Joy Price. And pray for our district superintendent, Rev. Sandy Olewine. Ask God to bless them and prosper them and their families and their ministries. And ask God to give them hearts of peace rather than hearts of war, so that this congregation can thrive and grow into the church God has designed for this place and this time.

Let us keep the faith.

In Peace,