Though a decision that could form a new affiliation within the United Methodist Church will be postponed once more until 2022, a Columbiana County church is changing now.

The Rev. Abby Auman, district superintendent of the Mahoning Valley District of East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, said moving forward with the new affiliation, which has a conservative view, is the former Boyce United Methodist Church in East Liverpool.

Now, it is Boyce Church.

Other churches are taking a “wait-and-see” approach, Auman said, because there isn’t a desire to leave under the current pathway. “They think maybe they may find themselves compatible enough with the new United Methodist Church,” she said.

There are 57 United Methodist Churches in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, down from 60 last year. The church is also at a time “of rapid change” locally, due to the particular demographics of the Mahoning Valley, Auman said, noting that some of the churches have combined their congregations.

Ten districts make up the church’s East Ohio Conference.

GLOBAL METHODIST

The new affiliation, the Global Methodist Church, will likely be voted after a second consecutive delay of the General Conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. The next General Conference has been scheduled for Aug. 29, 2022 through Sept. 6, 2022.

The split has been a topic of the church, centering around the debate over LGBTQ inclusion.

According to the Global Methodist Church, “it is widely assumed” that a separation will take place next year during the General Conference.

A virtual, special session of the conference is set for May 8, but with a limited quorum. During that session, Auman said that items regarding retirement and finances will be discussed.

To accommodate delegates around the world without access to COVID-19 vaccines or reliable internet access, the voting process will be conducted with paper ballots through the mail.

On its website, the United Methodist Church said: “The purpose of the 2021 Special Session of the General Conference will be limited to gaining a quorum in order to suspend the rules for the sole purpose of allowing the use of paper ballots to act upon 12 pieces of legislation that would enable the church to effectively continue its work until the postponed 2020 General Conference is held in 2022.”

INTERPRETATION

One of the challenges associated with the decision to break away and form a new church is a matter of interpretation, Auman said.

“I think that’s really one of the challenges that’s at the heart of this discussion: How do people read the same, sacred text and come to a different understanding of who God is and how we are supposed to live in community together?” Auman said.

Some churches that are more nondenominational have more uniformity, while the United Methodist Church has been held together by principles that allow for the growth of theological diversity, Auman said. “Sometimes that is a strength and a gift, and sometimes it is a real challenge to us. Now is one of those times where it’s a real challenge,” Auman said.

Locally, the United Methodist churches are invested in helping their communities and offer messages “of hope and love,” she said.

STRENGTHENED BANS

In 2019 during the conference in St. Louis, delegates voted 438-384 to strengthen bans on LGBTQ-inclusive practices, the Associated Press reported. Most of the United States-based delegates opposed that plan, favoring LGBTQ-friendly options but were outvoted by U.S. conservatives, as well as delegates from Africa and the Philippines.

The most prominent plan, the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation, has some high-level support, including from the Council of Bishops and from the Global Methodist group. Under the protocol, conservative congregations and regional bodies would be allowed to separate from the UMC and form a new denomination. They would receive $25 million in UMC funds and be able to keep their properties.

Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church has about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States.

The UMC’s demography is illustrated by the apportionment of voting delegates for the 2022 General Conference: About 56 percent come from the United States, 32 percent from Africa, 6 percent from the Philippines and most of the rest from Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

afox@tribtoday.com