The General Conference just approved the Disaffiliation – Taylor Petition with revisions which lays out a process for churches to leave the denomination while retaining their property and assets provided that they meet the financial obligations in the plan. This would allow any church the opportunity to leave the denomination in a more detailed, structured, and unified fashion than is currently provided in the Book of Discipline. A representative from our General Council on Finance and Administration reported that on average for ever 1% of UMC churches that leave the denomination the General Church and Annual Conferences will lose 5.2 million dollars. It will be interesting to see if many churches choose this path moving into the future.
All Things Charity 