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Representatives of the United Methodist Churches in the Susquehanna Conference will be meeting next week at the Community Arts Center for their annual conference, which this year focuses on the theme, "New and improved through Christ."
Around 1,000 people are expected to attend the regular sessions, which will be from May 18 to 20. The conference is not open to the public.
The conference is a time to conduct business, worship, ordain new clergy, celebrate retiring clergy and have a memorial service for those who have passed away during the past year, according to Liz Lennox, communications director for the Susquehanna and Western PA Conferences.
The theme was developed by Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi and Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball of the conference as a nod to moving on from the divisions which are playing out in the denomination across the country.
"The United Methodist Church has been going through some difficulties and it's our hope that this theme is optimistic and shows that we're going to be moving on from the division and doing something new, something different, something a little bit better in the coming year," Lennox said.
The division Lennox referred to is the ongoing controversy in the United Methodist Church over the ordaining of practicing homosexual clergy and whether same-sex marriages should be permitted.
A special conference has been called for Wednesday, to affirm the disaffiliation of churches within the local conference.
Disaffiliation is the process by which individual churches can leave the denomination for various reasons.
"The United Methodist Church has sort of been grappling with different opinions on ordaining gay clergy and permitting our clergy to officiate same-gender weddings. So, that kind of is at the forefront of a lot of people's issues," Lennox said.
"In 2019 in a special session of the General Conference, which is the governing body of the entire Methodist Church, there was language added to our 'Book of Discipline,' which is basically our constitution, prohibiting gay clergy and prohibiting clergy from officiating at same-gender marriages. So that's where our Book of Discipline stands now -- that's currently not allowed," Lennox said.
"At that same session, there was a plan that allowed for a church to disaffiliate if they disagreed with the church's stance on homosexuality," she added.
The denomination was set to address the issue again at their annual conference in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that. The next annual conference is set for next year.
"For the time being, there are laws and rules in place that clergy cannot perform same-gender weddings and clergy cannot be gay," Lennox said.
"It's hard to say what's on the books for that next general conference, but we can assume that it's potentially again addressing issues around human sexuality," Lennox said.
Although the denomination is still trying to decide where they will land on this issue, many congregations have begun the process of disaffiliation. The deadline for disaffiliation is by the end of December this year.
"At that 2019 general session in that paragraph that was added to 'The Book of Discipline,' that gave churches the option to disaffiliate under a certain set of guidelines, that clause sunsets at the end of this year," Lennox said.
"There are other avenues for churches to disaffiliate. It would be just to basically be able to use that particular clause," she said.
The local conference is not saying how many churches have decided to disaffiliate, because their decision has to be affirmed at the special session next week.
Disaffiliation is not just a matter of severing ties with the denomination and exiting.
Congregations must have the matter settled by a two-thirds majority of their members determined by two votes.
"Once they reach that majority in the two votes, they're able to move forward with the trustees to pull up the agreement and determine what that financial agreement is going to be," she said.
Part of the financial aspect of disaffiliation is apportionments.
"It's similar to tithing," Lennox said. "Think of it as the local church tithing to the local conference. There is a formula to determine what that apportionment responsibility is. That money is divided and distributed through the United Methodist Church and goes into the ministries and funds and a lot of the denominational level agencies and ministries."
What churches own in terms of real estate and assets have to also be dealt with before a church severs its relationship with the denomination.
"The United Methodist Church operates under what is called a trust clause. That trust clause puts all property of a local church into that conference which sort of oversees that property. As part of the United Methodist Church, the church doesn't actually own the property, the land and their assets," Lennox said.
"What disaffiliation is doing is setting up standards set by our conference board of trustees and they determine what the church is going to have to do to be able to disaffiliate. Some conferences are requiring congregations to pay 100% of their property value plus their apportionments for a year and a half," she said.
Although she was unsure of the exact amount the Susquehanna Conference is asking for, she described it as "a very slim amount of their money.'
"We're trying to come to a fair agreement to allow these churches to disaffiliate. What it all comes down to is we don't want to hold these churches hostage. We don't want them to stay in a denomination that they don't feel they can be a part of -- that they don't want to be a part of," Lennox said.
"When they officially disaffiliate, they will pay a financial amount. Once they disaffiliate, they will own their property, own their building, own their assets. The United Methodist Church will then have no hand in anything they do from then on," she added.
Once the final vote is taken at the special session, the representatives of the churches which have chosen to disaffiliate will then leave.
"Go with God. We're praying for you. We bless you on your way out," Lennox said.
The special session of the conference may seem anti-climactic as many of the conversations about disaffiliation have already taken place on a granular level.
"A lot of those conversations have been ongoing within their own congregation, online, with their district superintendents, with their committees, with our conference, so I think at this point a lot of those concerns have been exhausted," Lennox said.
"It's our hope that the conference will be spirit-led, grace-filled and that we can do this without any animosity. We want to go into that with the spirit of hopefulness and a spirit of new beginnings," she said.