One Million United Methodists Exit in One Day
By Mark Tooley, Juicy Ecumenism.
United Methodism’s largest overseas jurisdiction has voted to quit the denomination in response to the church’s divorcing sex from marriage at its governing General Conference earlier this month.
The United Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast voted on May 28 to exit the denomination. In 2022, this conference reportedly had over 1.2 million members. So, its departure means over one tenth of United Methodism has in one day left the denomination. Oddly, United Methodist News Service reported the vote very briefly in an emailed news digest but as of today has no article on its website. Perhaps it will post a fuller account later.
A European website, La Croix International, offers a fuller account:
The Ivorian United Methodists said United Methodism “deviates from the Holy Scriptures” and prefers “to sacrifice its honor and integrity to honor the LGBTQ community.”
La Croix International quoted Bishop Benjamin Boni saying “the United Methodist Church now rests on socio-cultural values that have consumed its doctrinal and disciplinary integrity.”
Here’s text of Ivorian resolution.
Amazingly, as shared in this video, the decision-making process for the Ivorian Methodists transpired over only a couple weeks after the United Methodist General Conference concluded May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina. At that General Conference, delegates removed the church’s longtime stance that sex is only for marriage between husband and wife. Adultery and extramarital sex were removed as chargeable offenses for clergy, along with homosexual behavior.
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