May 29, 2023
May we all have a moment of silence for all the brave men and women who gave their life for our freedom.
To Disaffiliate or not to disaffiliate?
To disaffiliate or not to disaffiliate? That is the question so many of our members are pondering. What is our church, Catawba United Methodist Church, going to do? Many have heard of local churches choosing to go through the process of disaffiliation from the United Methodist denomination over the pending issue of redefining human sexuality. To be honest, our church has not fully discussed this issue because our focus has been on recovery from Covid and our ministries.
To disaffiliate costs money based on apportionments and pastoral pensions. It is costly, taking monies we quite frankly do not have. It is a process involving several steps with final approval given at Annual Conference.
The General Conference of 2020 was postponed to May of 2024 due to the Covid outbreak. This Conference will now take place in Charlotte from April 23 to May 3. Redefining human sexuality and its implications on the denomination will again be the big issue at this General Conference.
Like many other churches in our area, Catawba United Methodist Church has decided to wait until after this General Conference takes place to make our decision on disaffiliation. Right now, churches still have autonomy on how they approach and handle this issue with no change to the Discipline. Our focus now at CUMC is on ministry and growth, finding new ways to show the love of Jesus to others. After all, this is our mission statement. Romans 14:14 directs us to, “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is what we need to do while waiting for the Lord’s direction, earnestly praying for the church.
For more information, you can go to the United Methodist Church’s website at www.umc.org or www.gracethroughseparation.com. Pastor Kim will be glad to talk with you as well as others of our church leadership. Right now, however, we must be focused on how we can share Jesus and His love to our community.
The Sunshine Club
The Sunshine Club will meet in the parking lot of our church on Thursday, June 1st at 9 AM. They will take a field trip to the Billy Graham Library. Please contact the church office if you would like to join.