I often say it, but I feel blessed to pastor a church that is compassionate, caring, and connected. In fact, that goes beyond the local church, because Galilee is a part of a broader denomination. We are a strong, world-wide connectional church. I feel it strengthens our local church to be connected to the larger UMC, and it’s the larger UMC that I want to say a few words about.

You see, we’ve been in the news.

General Conference met earlier this month in Charlottesville, NC. United Methodist delegates arrived at this chief decision making meeting from all over the world and major steps, which have been in the pipeline for years, were voted on.

I’d like to summarize the major actions with four “R” categories:

Removed. General Conference removed language from the Book of Discipline. This language, introduced in the 1970s, said that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” The Conference also removed all restrictions around the ministry of LGBTQ persons.

Regionalization. A church governance reform called regionalization was approved. This reform allows UMC conferences in different parts of the world to make decisions independent from other regions, to better do ministry in the context of local custom and culture. This plan passed at General Conference but must be ratified in all Annual Conferences (including our own Virginia Annual Conference), which could take fourteen months. 

Revised. General Conference revised the Social Principles, which is a document that gives guidance on social and ethical issues to ministries and individuals in our denomination. The revision is from a global perspective and is largely a document we can all agree on, though there is vital room for difference in matters of conscience. (The new Social Principles were the subject of a sermon series at Galilee in the Fall of 2023).

Reduced. Due to the disaffiliation of a portion of UMC churches over the past few years, the UMC annual budget has been significantly reduced (-43%). These budget cuts affect large boards and denominational agencies, not your local church. However, Galilee’s access to UM staff and support may be more limited.

So that’s what happened. Obviously, most interest here at Galilee is centered on the changes that involve people, not the budget. We’ve always been a church that welcomes people, but we’ve not always sounded like it in regard to our LGBTQ friends, family, and neighbors. What’s changed then? Our love for them? Their value? Our Christian beliefs? No. What’s changed is we removed language from our ministry guidelines. Our handbook on how we do ministry has gone from sadly unwelcoming to intentionally inclusive.

Our ministry for, from, and with LGBTQ persons and their families is worthy of further conversation. I’d love to see Galilee take some steps like hosting a community learning session about this topic. Perhaps by discussing ways that we can be a more supportive congregation, we can open avenues to a better understanding of all sides of these issues. And by better, I mean more Christ-like.

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Galilee also has an interest in regionalization, because we are a church that supports missions in other countries. Just this Sunday, we put out a call to support maternal health in Sierra Leone (which you can still do). Are we, through regionalization, breaking with the church in Africa? 

No we are not. 

Regionalization allows the American church to be open about matters of sexuality, for example, in our cultural context where sexual differences are safe, socially accepted, and legal, while not forcing the African church to approve practices that in their countries are taboo, illegal, and subject to cruel punishment. We can maintain connection with our church brothers and sisters while not imposing our national standards on them, and vice versa. At the same time, our witness can stand for the mutual respect of all persons.

Homosexuality is only one issue, I want to be clear. Another would be pension reform, which is made necessary by the UMC budget reductions. It is hard enough to make pension changes in one country, where we are subject to one set of laws. Reforms like this would be impossible without regionalization, as the denomination’s financial agencies would be subject to more than one controlling authority.

Regionalization gives us the freedom to differ and to do our ministry our own way. We will not be abandoning our ministry partners in Sierra Leone or Costa Rica. I hope, in fact, that we do more with them. Anyone who has ever gone to Sierra Leone, as I have, or to Costa Rica knows: we have much we can learn from our international brothers and sisters.

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I think most important to our church is the question, “How will these changes affect Galilee?” Honestly, in tangible ways? It’s likely that Galilee will be totally unaffected by General Conference. Our work and our worship are centered here, with you, and with God, and not determined by a denominational leader in an office somewhere.

But I get it: any time there is a big UMC change, some people are pleased and some are not. Disagreement happens, but Galilee can weather some honest difference and dialogue. If you have questions about these changes, the Four Rs, or would like to discuss what you have heard about the outcomes of General Conference, call me at 703-430-2203 or email me here, or leave a reply below. I’d love to talk to you about the church I’ve been blessed to pastor.

We have been—and will continue to be—a church that welcomes all people. When we come forward to celebrate communion, every one is welcome. No individual who is called, and certainly no group of people, is excluded. We are all of sacred worth to God and welcome at the Lord’s Table.