On Oct. 15, United Methodist Church Bishop Laura Merrill called for a Special Session of the Arkansas Annual Conference to discuss disaffiliation agreements for consideration by the annual conference and the Zoom conference held was limited to this single issue. Sixty-two congregations who requested disaffiliation, including four in the Twin Lakes Area, were approved. This adds to the 100 other who have already left the conference in the past 11 months.
Local churches departing include Bull Shoals, Yellville, Marshall and St. Paul in Harrison.
Churches leaving are required to pay any outstanding tithes owed to the conference, plus an additional year’s tithes as well as money to cover unfunded pension liability. The deadline is Dec. 31.
Paragraph 2553, of the denomination’s Book of Discipline, which was approved in 2019 at a special session of the denomination’s General Conference in St. Louis, allowed local churches to disaffiliate if they were dissatisfied with the denomination’s handling of issues such as same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy. Officials state once Paragraph 2553 sunsets on Dec. 31, there is no guarantee congregations will be given another opportunity to depart.
Other churches disaffiliating include Arkansas City, Bethel (Jacksonville), Bethel (Sheridan), Carlisle First, Center Grove (Gurdon), Center Grove (Sheridan), Danville, DeWitt First, Diamond City, Dumas First, Ebenezer (Stephens), Fountain Hill, Glenwood, Gravelly, Green’s Chapel, Harmon, Harrell, Hermitage, Hickory Plains, L’eau Fraiz, Lacey, Marmaduke, Maynard, Midland, Midway, Mount Ida, New Edinburg, Oak Grove (Searcy), Ola, Pleasant Grove (DeWitt), Philadelphia, Rock Springs (Wilmar), Rockport, Roe, Rushing Memorial, St. James (Mountain View), Silver Hill, Springfield, Sugar Hill, Taylor, Trinity (Warren), Unity, Wagnon, Warren First, Watson, Winslow, Campground (Paragould), Cornerstone (Pleasant Plains), Gentry, Hartford, McGehee First, Mount Tabor, Pruett’s Chapel, Quitman, Rhodes Chapel, Tillar and Warren’s Chapel.
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