Members of the 2023 North Georgia Annual Conference ratified the disaffiliation agreements of 261 Methodist churches, including six in Hall County, at a called meeting Saturday.
The churches are leaving the UMC after a decision four years ago by the national United Methodist Church to allow congregations to leave by the end of 2023, “for reasons of conscience regarding a change in the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline related to the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals.”
The date of disaffiliation for the departing churches is November 30. They have an additional 30 days to fulfill the terms of the agreement which include financial and other obligations.
The Hall County churches on the list are in Gainesville, Lula, and Gillsville. Churches in several adjoining counties are also included. About a year ago a group of dissatisfied Methodists in the area formed Asbury Chapel Methodist Church and began meeting in January in the chapel at Memorial Park Funeral Home North on Riverside Drive.
You’ll find more on this Saturday’s action, including a list of all the affected churches in the conference, here: NGUMC | Annual Conference Gathers for November 2023 Special Session
(Photo courtesy the conference.)