UMC says 'several hundred' Nigerian churches will stay in denomination despite LGBT affirmation
The United Methodist Church says there are hundreds of congregations in Nigeria that won't be leaving the denomination over its recent decision to allow the blessing of same-sex unions.
Recently, there have been conflicting reports about the UMC Nigerian Episcopal Area, which has 560,000 members, and whether it has voted to leave the denomination.
A spokesperson for the UMC directed The Christian Post to a letter by Bishop John Schol, a member of the UMC interim leadership team for the regional body, which was written on Monday and posted online.
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In the letter, addressed to the “United Methodists of Nigeria,” Schol denied reports that the West African nation’s four conferences had voted to leave the UMC and affiliate with the Global Methodist Church.
“There are reports that Annual Conferences were held, and Conferences voted to leave The United Methodist Church. This is not true,” wrote Schol. “There were no Conference Sessions convened according to our Book of Discipline, and most delegates/conference members were not invited to these gatherings.”
According to Schol, only the leadership of the Nigeria Episcopal Area and some of the regional body have decided to disaffiliate from the mainline Protestant denomination.
“Several hundred congregations and clergy have already communicated that they will stay with The United Methodist Church. We are grateful for your conviction and courage. We are in prayer with those who are concerned and are discerning,” he continued.
“I call on all United Methodists and those who have left The United Methodist Church to follow Jesus Christ, who humbled himself and sought peace and reconciliation. When people do otherwise, they hurt the witness of Jesus Christ.”
For decades, the UMC was embroiled in a debate over whether to amend its Book of Discipline to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals.
At the UMC General Conference held in the spring, delegates overwhelmingly voted to remove these measures from the Book of Discipline. This came after approximately 7,500 mostly conservative congregations disaffiliated from the denomination due to the debate.
In June, reports surfaced claiming that the UMC Nigeria Episcopal Area had held a special session at Jalingo, where delegates voted to leave the denomination due to the changes.
The conservative Methodist blog People Need Jesus posted a copy of the purported resolution, which explained that the Nigerian regional body believed that the UMC “prioritizes” the LGBT community “over the traditional beliefs held by many United Methodists in Nigeria.”
In July, Nigerian Bishop John Wesley Yohanna sent a statement to Nigerian state officials explaining that, at a special called session held earlier that month, the regional body voted to leave the UMC and join the GMC.
“Therefore we want to make a statement that since the church has derailed from Biblical principle we cannot be in this church where … homosexuality can be celebrated,” stated Yohanna.
Yohanna also warned that any UMC congregation agreeing with the changes would be violating Nigerian law, which prohibits both same-sex relationships and LGBT advocacy groups.
However, a group of Nigerian UMC church officials released a statement disputing Yohanna’s claim, arguing that only the former bishop and around 10% of the regional body decided to exit.
“Even though we are saddened by their exit, we hold them in our prayers and wish them God’s guidance in their new found faith community,” read the statement. “We also wish to make it categorically clear ... that our denomination does not permit them to leave with any of the United Methodist property in the way and manner the[y] left.”
On Aug. 1, the UMC named the bishops who would be part of an interim team to lead the Nigerian Episcopal Area through December, when new leadership for the regional body would be appointed. This group included Schol, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa and Bishop Patrick Streiff.
The GMC has maintained that the Nigerian body has affiliated with their denomination, with Transitional Connectional Officer Keith Boyette telling CP in an earlier interview that their information on the issue “came directly from those in positions of authority on the ground in Nigeria.”
“They informed me that unanimous votes were taken at the duly called special sessions of each of the four annual conferences in Nigeria to withdraw from The United Methodist Church and to align with the Global Methodist Church,” Boyette explained.
Boyette also said that the GMC has “appointed leadership for each of” the four Nigerian conferences and is “moving ahead to receive congregations and clergy into membership in the Global Methodist Church.”
