I write this in the aftermath of the meeting of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, meeting in Los Angels June 14-17, 2023. During the session, attempts were made by myself and your Lay Leader, Ted Smith, to ask the bishop and the conference trustees to reconsider the terms of disaffiliation, which include the necessity for local churches seeking disaffiliation to pay the conference the equivalent of 50% of the property value of the church. For The Fount, that amounts to over $3 million!

But the delegates (members) of the annual conference voted down Ted’s motion for the bishop and the trustees to simply talk to one another about the matter, and the bishop ruled my motion “out of order”, citing some Judicial Council decisions. I asked for a “Ruling of Law” from the bishop which will be reviewed by the Judicial Council, but even if it is over-turned, there won’t be time to complete the requirements of disaffiliation before the provision in paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline expires (December 31, 2023). This effectively blocks the disaffiliation of all 22 (and counting) churches in the Cal-Pac Conference.

So, what’s to be done?

We will attempt to make an appointment with the bishop, who said on the floor of conference that she is willing to talk with us. So, I am organizing such a meeting of the disaffiliating churches and the bishop. There is a slim chance that the bishop will see our point of view and take some action. The only other options left to us would be to “walk away” from our property and start over, or take legal action against the conference. Neither of these are attractive options!

We need a miracle!

I am calling on the church to begin a concerted effort in prayer. I will consult with the church staff and leadership to set the best time and day, but I’m thinking we need to join together for prayer every week, apart from our worship service. Watch for further announcements about that. In addition, I will be calling all of the disaffiliation-hopeful churches in Cal-Pac to likewise join together (probably on Zoom) to pray together on a regular basis. We need a move of God! And we need to get on our knees so that God can have a clear path to do what He will.

Be watching for more information, and plan to join in prayer with your brothers and sisters, seeking a move of God on the behalf of those churches and ministers wanting to depart from the UMC.

Hopefully,