“Reconciling” United Methodist Churches Lose Members
by Esther Chung, Juicy Ecumenism:
Sexual morality is one of the most controversial and most widely discussed issues in our society today. Churches are not immune from related controversies. Within the United Methodist Church, the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) has urged the denomination to stray from biblical teachings on marriage. The unofficial group of United Methodists now known as RMN emerged in 1982 to advocate for the gay and lesbian community. It alsolaunched a decades-long, unsuccessful campaign to get global United Methodism to abandon biblical teaching and officially allow same-sex union ceremonies and the ordination of openly homosexually active clergy. However, RMN’s efforts have taken a toll on their affiliated congregations.
RMN’s stated mission speaks of “resist[ing] evil, injustice, and oppression as we seek justice for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.” It believes that all sexual orientations are a gift from God and fights to bring churches to recognize this and celebrate related non-traditional sexual practices, including same-sex unions, and sex-reassignment surgeries. Over the years, hundreds of U.S. United Methodist congregations (out of the denomination’s tens of thousands of congregations around the world) have declared themselves to be “Reconciling Congregations” formally supporting RMN.
I have often heard that once a United Methodist congregation joins RMN, it takes a toll on the congregation. To prove this theory, I have compiled data for most United Methodist congregations that joined RMN between 2008 and 2014. The denomination’s official online data directory, www.UMdata.org, does not include key information before 2007 or after 2016.
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