PRESS RELEASE: September 16, 2022
Vero Beach FL: The Wesleyan Covenant Association-Florida regional chapter (“WCA-Florida”) this week has been unusually quiet with a much lower count of incoming phone calls coming from church leaders. The legal action pending against the Florida conference of the UMC filed by the National Center for Life and Liberty (NCLL) on behalf of 110+ churches is in a holding pattern. The Florida conference has until mid next week to file their response to the lawsuit. According to a letter (link: https://www.flumc.org/newsdetail/a-letter-from-bishop-carter-on-the-recent-judicial-council-ruling-16617712) issued by Bishop Ken Carter on August 30, 2022, he indicates: “we will ask the state court to dismiss the lawsuit.”
Jeremy Rebman, President of the WCA-Florida, strongly urges all involved in the lawsuit, from churches leaders to Florida conference leaders, to pray for a peaceful end to the dispute NOW. “Lawsuits are springing up all over the country. Many churches are awaiting the results of the motion to dismiss to file their actions. Lawsuits can be expected to be seen in many other conferences within the United Methodist denomination. This legal action doesn’t need to continue. Bishops can and should let churches leave in a peaceful and equitable manner and not require legal action to achieve this fairness to churches.”
Pastor Tom Thomas, President of the Virginia WCA laments the legal action many of his Virginia conference churches have had to undertake in order to try to achieve a fair exit from the United Methodist denomination. “This is a sad and unfortunate time in our denomination’s history. The leaders of our conference have left our Virginia churches with no other options. I pray that our conference leaders will find a way to let our churches exit in an equitable fashion so that we can contend for our faith and join other like-minded churches in doing the same. Charging exorbitant exit fees prevents so many churches from leaving the denomination. I pray that is not the conference’s underlying intention.”
Rebman concludes with these words from Isaiah 52:11 & 12: “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house. But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”