I thought the One Church plan would be adopted. I don't like this at all. My husband and I have been talking off and on about moving to the Episcopal Church. I've been resistant -- I'm a lifelong Methodist who thinks we should have stayed with the Cokesbury Hymnal! That said, i think our discussions are about to get a lot more serious. And I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way.

This is what the Episcopalian church gets right in order to remain relevant in today's world. If there is a gay, female chimp that can somehow perform the liturgy, then it will be an Episcopalian. And I am down with that ;-)

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DFL > DNF > DNS

I doubt even with that they will be relevant :)

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

That's Chimpist!!!

Not happy about it even in the least bit. My family and I go to a small local Methodist church with an older congregation. My guess is for our church is about 50/50 for those for/against the traditional plan. We have an extremely good and open pastor who I think was definitely hoping for the One Church Plan but is very good about not giving his opinion on certain things so he doesn’t sway people solely based on his opinion. Not sure what my family will do as my wife and I were strongly for the One Church Plan. May take is the African churches that say they would have a hard time in the area under the One Church Plan would have been given the opportunity to not allow it in their church under that plan.

Another thing that really hurts is seeing all of the congregations saying they are leaving one way or the other. Lots of churches in the US appeared to have joined the Wesleyan Covenant either way to try and ensure their belief in a supposed strict biblical view. Kind of like taking my ball and going home in my opinion.

Here is the recent address on the plans from one of the African Methodists. He doesn't mince words.

https://juicyecumenism.com/...e-bible-for-dollars/

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◼︎ We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening a mob with the news that grass is green. - Chesterton

That.......was AWESOME and spot on!!! Thank you for the link.

He is citing the Book of Discipline for part of this. As I’m sure you know that is ever changing. There was a time when women were not allowed to be ordained in the church. I would be curious to hear is take in that as well since their is scripture expressly stating women should not “teach or have authority over man.” Not many churches, including the Methodist, will stand in favor of that. I don’t seeing him or anyone else for that matter standing up against women being in the church. I am admittedly sour about the whole situation but I would summarize the modified plan he was in favor of as the if you don’t like it you can leave plan for local churches.

I am disappointed at the vote. My father was a Methodist minister and would be very disappointed as well.

My perspective is that of a member of a different Protestant background. From Titus 3:5, I think congregations were meant to be autonomous, not governed by a central bureaucracy. Acceptance of practicing LGB individuals by the church is certainly an issue on which there is little middle ground. Perhaps the local congregations will coalesce according to their constituents' acceptance of Scripture.

While I agree that women should not teach or exercise authority over men (I Tim. 2:12), there are many roles where women can serve: in women-only ministries, teaching children of all ages (where they are arguably better at it than men), and perhaps as deaconesses (I Tim. 3:11 seems to indicate women can also officially serve in that capacity-deacons focus on meeting physical needs, not teaching spiritual truths-Acts 6:1-4).

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◼︎ We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening a mob with the news that grass is green. - Chesterton