Discernment Timeline
for the people of Geneseo First Methodist Church
May 2016
Geneseo First Methodist prayed for Pastor Chris as he and some 800 other delegates convened in Portland for the quadrennial General Conference of The United Methodist Church. During the first week of work, it became clear that church teachings on marriage and human sexuality were on track to be upheld in spite of orchestrated protests. Amidst rumors of denominational breakup, General Conference narrowly approved a plan to table all legislative action on human sexuality and empower the Council of Bishops to form a commission to study divisions in the denomination and bring back a plan.
July 2016
The Western Jurisdiction of the UMC elected Karen Oliveto, a partnered lesbian, as a bishop in the UMC. The Judicial Council ruled that the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops must take appropriate action to remove her. They refused and she continues to this day. It later came to light that the church she served for eight years, Glide Memorial in San Francisco, ceased celebrating holy communion and baptized people only “in the name of Glide.” That congregation has since left the UMC.
October 2016
The Wesleyan Covenant Association, an advocacy group for United Methodists seeking to uphold church teachings, held a convening meeting in Chicago. Pastor Chris presented “The Chicago Statement” at this meeting calling for accountability to church teaching.
Geneseo First Methodist became a founding congregation of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and Pastor Chris was selected to serve on the Global Leadership Council.
2017-2018
Three plans emerged from The Commission on a Way Forward and were widely debated. The Connectional Conference Plan would have re-organized the church into two separate but connected expressions. The One Church Plan, endorsed by the Council of Bishops, would allow conferences and local churches to make their own decisions on same-sex marriage. The Traditional Plan, initially left in outline form, would uphold church teaching and enable exit to those who could not tolerate this. Books were published, new caucuses were formed, and resolutions were passed on the future of the UMC.
Pastor Chris was a primary champion of the Connectional Conference Plan which was based on his earlier work on church unity. The CCP maintained a modicum of church unity while freeing the warring groups from one another. Pastor Chris also helped to write The Traditional Plan upholding church teaching.
February 2019
A specially-called General Conference was held in St. Louis to consider recommendations by The Commission on a Way Forward and other relevant legislation. Bishops were dismayed to find their preferred plan ranking low among delegate priorities. Amid bare-knuckle politics, the Traditional Plan upholding church teaching was approved, but without the planned gracious exit provision for those who disagree. A separate disaffiliation process was also approved for churches that wanted to become independent.
Pastor Chris was a delegate to General Conference 2019 and reported back to our conference and church.
Summer 2019
Blame and recriminations abounded in the wake of General Conference 2019. Several U.S. conferences passed resolutions in resistance to the decision of General Conference. In elections for General Conference 2020 delegates, more progressive delegates were elected in the U.S.
A group of progressives, centrists, and traditionalists met in Indianapolis to negotiate a plan for denominational separation. The result was “The Indianapolis Plan” that allowed centrist/progressives to control the UMC in exchange for a gracious exit path for conferences and congregations.
Fall 2019
The Wesleyan Covenant Association began pulling together plans for a new denomination.
Bishop Yambasu of Sierra Leone assembled a group of top bishops and advocacy group leaders to solve the UMC crisis. Noted attorney Kenneth Feinberg donated his services to create a plan for separation.
January 2020
The “Feinberg Separation Protocol” was announced as legislation coming to General Conference 2020 in Minneapolis. Like the earlier Indianapolis Plan, it ceded control of the UMC to centrist/progressives in exchange for a gracious exit for traditional conferences and congregations.
April 2020
A global pandemic caused the postponement of General Conference until 2021. This was later changed to August/September 2022.
Large congregations began to negotiate out of United Methodism, including the largest churches in the California-Pacific Conference, the Indiana Conference, the Texas Conference, and the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.
August 2020
Bishop Yambasu, the convener of the Protocol Team, died tragically in an auto accident. Africans honor his leadership amid mixed feelings about the agreement he helped to broker.
December 2020
The Wesleyan Covenant Association invites a wider group of UM traditionalists, including bishops, to help form a Transitional Leadership Council for a new denomination.
April 2021
The Vermillion River District of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference unanimously approved United Methodism’s first Drag Queen Clergy Candidate. Certified candidates for ministry are eligible to receive financial support from our apportionment payments for his educational expenses.
November 2021
The UM Council of Bishops release a Narrative for a Continuing United Methodist Church.
It came to light that members of the Transitional Leadership Council for the new denomination met over several months with representatives of the UMC Council of Bishops to draft a Comity Agreement for transfer of churches leaving the UMC for the new denomination. A draft of a plan was distributed to COB member but never officially approved.
The North Central Jurisdiction (the group that elects and appoints our bishops) approved a “Covenant to Build BeLoved Community.” It calls for full LGBTQIA+ inclusion in church leadership. This group also stated they would not elect any future bishops willing to uphold current church teachings on human sexuality.
December 2021
Plans for an ultra-progressive Methodist denomination, The Liberation Methodist Connexion, fizzled due to a lack of cohesive vision. Few progressives wanted to join with the promise of a more progressive UMC.
March 2022
A second delay in General Conference was announced. This time, until 2024. Traditionalists strongly objected to this decision and speculated it was made for political reasons. The formation of the Global Methodist Church was announced on that same day.
April 2022
The Church Council of Geneseo First Methodist Church selected a Transition Team and empowered them to research the state of the UMC and bring recommendations on the future. It was noted that many new attendees have been coming to Geneseo First Methodist from other churches. This is due, in part, to our clarity on scriptural teaching.
May 2022
The Global Methodist Church officially formed and began receiving congregations.
The Judicial Council of the UMC ruled that annual conferences cannot leave the UMC unless General Conference meets and approved a process for that.
August 2022
The Judicial Council ruled that churches cannot use long-standing ecumenical practices to transfer directly from the UMC to the GMC. This means disaffiliation is the only course of action for those seeking exit from the UMC. The disaffiliation provision sunsets on December 31, 2023 and all disaffiliations, including annual conference approvals, must be completed by then.
October 2022
The Transition Team at Geneseo First Methodist Church shared two recommendations with Church Council: (1) That our church should seek to disaffiliate from the UMC, and (2) Our church should seek to join the Global Methodist Church. These recommendations were approved unanimously by church council.
Current
Annual conferences hold regular and specially-called sessions to approve local church disaffiliations. Not without controversy, conferences have mixed approaches and price tags for disaffiliation. The Illinois Great Rivers Conference is named as one among those with a most punitive approach to disaffiliations, but revised guidelines are expected. The Transition Team from First Methodist will negotiate a price for disaffiliation with the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. An all-member vote is anticipated and the date will be set by the district superintendent. A 2/3 vote will be required for disaffiliation. Hundreds of churches around the world are joining the new Global Methodist Church.