Disaffiliation is a process described in paragraph 2553 in the Book of Discipline that allows a congregation to leave the UMC with all of its property and resources under very limited circumstances, namely: “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 as resolved and adopted by the 2019 General Conference, or by the actions or inactions of its Annual Conference related to these issues which follow.” The choice by a local church to disaffiliate with the UMC must be made in sufficient time for the process for exiting the denomination to be complete prior to December 31, 2023 when the provisions of par. 2553 are set to expire.

The overall framework for disaffiliation is found in par. 2553. You can find that document here. The process is as follows:

a) The Church Council must vote by simple majority of members of the Council present at a duly called meeting of the Council to request a Called Church Conference for the purpose of considering the question of staying UMC or disaffiliating. If the Church Council decides not to request a called Church Conference, then the process to disaffiliate ends and the church remains in the UMC.
b) If the Council requests the Church Conference, the request must be submitted to the District Superintendent between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2023.
c) The Church Conference date will be set by the District Superintendent sometime after March 1, 2023.
d) At the Church Conference, a vote will be taken. The vote will be by members of the church and they must be present to vote. There are no proxy votes or mail in votes or Zoom votes. In order for disaffiliation to be approved, at the duly called Church Conference 2/3 of the members present must vote in favor of disaffiliation. If a church member is present and chooses to abstain from voting, this is considered a no vote against disaffiliating. If less than 2/3 vote to disaffiliate, then the disaffiliation process ends and the congregation stays in the UMC.
e) If the Church Conference vote is to disaffiliate, a simple majority of members of the Annual Conference must approve the ratify the decision at a regular or called session of the Annual Conference. The North Georgia Annual Conference is held each year in June.
f) Because of the Bishop’s pause on disaffiliation in December 2022 and the lawsuit filed in early 2023, the dates in 3 b) and 3 c) have been amended. All churches involved in the lawsuit against the North Georgia Conference (this includes McEachern Memorial) have been given permission to hold church conferences before August 31, 2023. A special session of the North Georgia Annual Conference has been called by Bishop Dease on November 18, 2023 to approve those churches who have voted to disaffiliate.

Professing members of McEachern Memorial whose names are on the submitted membership roll can vote. The membership roll was submitted to the District Superintendent by the May 26 deadline.

No. If a congregation desires to remain in the UMC, no vote is necessary. Many congregations are waiting until General Conference 2024 in order to see what will happen in the UMC and how disaffiliating congregations have managed.

Yes. The actual cost is determined on the day of disaffiliation but it will include the following:

– Payment of any unpaid Conference Apportionments for the 12 months prior to disaffiliation. (Currently $137,000 in process of being paid)
– Payment of one additional year of Conference Apportionments. (Additional $137,000)
– An amount equal to the local church’s pro rata share of any aggregate unfunded pension liability of the Annual Conference. (Currently $124,413 subject to change)
– Repayment of any Annual Conference grants since 2018. (There are no unpaid grants for McEachern)

In addition, the church will bear any legal costs incurred in the process. There will be other incidental costs of transitioning from being a UMC congregation as well.

The General Conference 2019 approved a disaffiliation process for local churches to leave the UMC with all their property and resources. Since the beginning of Methodism, all churches have had within their deeds a Trust Clause which states that the land, buildings, etc are held in trust by the local church for the United Methodist Church. If the congregation ever ceased to be United Methodist, all the land, etc. reverts to the United Methodist Church.

The disaffiliation par. 2553 expires on December 31, 2023. If a church does not act prior to that time, then it will remain in the UMC.

We do not know how the UMC might change the Book of Discipline in the future. This includes whether or not there will be included a disaffiliation process included in the future.

The church could choose to “separate” from The United Methodist Church at a later date. This would involve a negotiation with the North Georgia Conference Board of Trustees; it is possible they might assess a cost to reflect the property and buildings, in addition to the apportionments and pension liability.

Upon disaffiliation, the local church is required to send a copy of all its church records and membership records to the Annual Conference while still retaining a copy for its own use.

The individual congregation will have to set up its own governance if it exists as an independent congregation. If the congregation affiliates with another denomination, then the governance of that denomination will be followed. Some churches that have already disaffiliated but have not yet joined another denomination are using the governing structure found in the 2016 Book of Discipline as it relates to the Local Church.

The Lay Staff are employees of McEachern and would make their own decision to leave or stay with McEachern Memorial UMC.

The Pastors would not be able to serve McEachern if the church disaffiliates and if they continued as active United Methodist clergy. The Bishop and Cabinet have stated that even in retirement United Methodist clergy would be unable to serve any congregation that is not United Methodist. The Pastors could serve McEachern if they give up their Ordination in the UMC and become clergy in another denomination.

If McEachern completes the process of disaffiliation from the UMC, then there are a number of options to explore. The congregation could remain independent or it could join another denomination. Information concerning these other denominations will be provided at a later date.

If the congregation votes to disaffiliate then your membership would remain at McEachern. If you desired to stay in a United Methodist congregation then you would have to transfer your membership to a local UMC congregation nearby.

Conversely, if the congregation decided to stay in the UMC, your membership would remain at McEachern. If you desired to leave the UMC then you would transfer your membership to a non-UMC congregation.

We are not certain at this time. To be certain would require a Declaratory Judgement from a judge. McEachern’s Trustees are investigating this.

No. Your membership must be in one or the other.