Wbg. church seeks resurrection, divorce from denomination

WARRENSBURG | A few decades ago, if you didn't go early to services at the First United Methodist Church of Warrensburg, it could be difficult to find a seat. Back then, the church featured a choir with 15 or so members and a staff choral director, and their Sunday school was filled to capacity with smiling faces. Nowadays, all of the church's Sunday worshippers can fit into one pew. There's merely one child enrolled in Sunday school; there's no choir, no staff members, and no pastor. Years ago, 150 or more people helped support the church's existence. Now, there are about 12 hardy souls working to save the church from potential extinction. These half-dozen parishioners are seeking not only to revitalize their church, but also to separate from the United Methodist Church and either join the Global Methodist Church or go independent. They are seeking this disaffiliation because the United Methodist Church's governing body is expected to change its "Book of Discipline," or bylaws, to allow same-sex marriages to be conducted in the church and for self-avowed, practicing homosexuals to be ordained and become pastors. The United Methodist National Conference has been debating this change for seven years, four of the members of the Warrensburg explained recently. The church's former Sunday school superintendent, Judy Haggerty, pointed out that the United Methodist National Conference bylaws presently cite "ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers" and "not conducted in our churches." These bylaws also say that pastors, church and conference leaders can be charged, tried and expelled for being practicing homosexuals. These prohibitions of "immorality" also include not being celibate while unmarried, or not being faithful in a heterosexual marriage. "These are the rules and laws of the United Methodist Church, and we would like to stay with what is written, but our church's conference is going to change it," Haggerty said. "It will become very liberal, and we tend to be very conservative — we follow the Bible." Another parishioner, Jamiee Ross of Thurman, is a lay speaker and business manager for the Warrensburg church. She said the parish needs to raise $60,000 by mid-September to separate from their denomination. The money would go to pay the Upper New York United Methodists Conference for the legal fees required for the split, as well as pay them "Ministry Shares." The Warrensburg Methodist Church is in arrears in their payments to the regional conference, due to lack of funds stemming from such a small church membership. Bruce Harrington of Warrensburg, also a parishioner, said that with the $60,000 payment, the conference would give up all claims to the property, and it would belong to the Warrensburg church's trustees. After this transaction occurs, the conference and New York State would recognize the local parish as sole owners as well as their status as an independent organization, he said. Ross and Harrington noted that the Warrensburg parishioners paid for the church to be built in 1904, funded its elegant stained glass windows and furnishings, and paid for the church building's maintenance, expansion and upgrades over the last 120 years. "It was all local money," Harrington said. The church has a rich history, Harrington continued, citing its centuries-long prominence in the region. Warrensburg First United Methodist is believed to be the town's first church, as its roots go back to 1796, the era of the town's origin. Josiah and Issac Woodward — two of the original settlers in the area — were early leaders in the church, inspired by Methodist circuit riders who visited Warrensburg, according to historians. The remaining parishioners of the Warrensburg church are now seeking to recruit new members for the parish and donors who wish to see the church not only survive but flourish in its mission to raise spiritual consciousness and strengthen social bonds in the Warrensburg area. CHURCHES ACROSS U.S. DITCH THEIR DENOMINATIONS This pending separation from the United Methodist denomination isn't at all rare. One in five of the 30,000 or so United Methodist congregations in the U.S. have left the denomination in the past four years — and about half of them have affiliated with the Global Methodist Church — formed in May 2022. In April 2022, United Methodist Conference's Council of Bishops' President Thomas Bickerton said the split over the theological and sexual issues was a "sad and sobering reality," and that he valued the United Methodist's diversity of thought, the Associated Press reported. "The constant fighting, the vitriolic rhetoric, the punitive behaviors have no place in how we preserve and promote our witness as Christian believers," Bickerton said about the controversy leading up to the parishes leaving the United Methodist denomination in 2022 and forming the Global Methodist spinoff. "We are the United Methodist Church — not interested in continuing sexism, racism, homophobia, irrelevancy and decline," Bickerton said about how the United Methodist denomination would approach the future. Bickerton heads up the UMC's New York City region as well as the national conference. These schisms and disaffiliations over theology and LGBTQ issues have also been experienced by other mainline church denominations. WBG. METHODISTS SEEK TO GROW PARISH The very survival of the Warrensburg First United Methodist Church will be difficult, considering the size of its present membership and present resources. Sustaining a church requires a steady income from its parishioners, and the Warrensburg UMC's 24 or so members — a tiny fraction of its membership in its heydays — have had to draw down the church's savings to keep it afloat. Harrington said that only 10 to 12 people make pledges toward the church's expenses, and the Conference doesn't provide any financial support for the Warrensburg church. He estimated that the present annual expenses of the church for utilities, maintenance and repairs total $70,000. Asked how their church could be sustainable, the parishioners talked of ways they could reach out to the community through new initiatives. Such a decline in attendance and active membership is a major problem nationally with most of the mainline church denominations, as an estimated 40 million people have quit church-attending over the last 25 years. A recent survey of more than 7,000 Americans indicated that the pursuit of individual accomplishment through one's career and financial success has left little time for participation in church activities. Careers, commuting and pressures of modern life have left adults too burned out to devote time to church, the research study concluded. The parishioners of Warrensburg First Methodist Church, however, intend to ramp up their efforts to combat such stress that has deteriorated participation in parish life. They note that church membership offers a vibrant spiritual community that relieves the loneliness and isolation of modern life; and instead offers a caring, compassionate social environment. In the past, the Warrensburg First United Methodist Church hosted a community meal site, and sponsored Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups. Although these activities are defunct, the parish is now pursuing other aspects of community outreach. Recently, they've begun holding a "Free Community Picnic Lunch" event each Sunday in July and August, from about 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., providing hot dogs and hamburgers for anyone — and people are welcome to bring their own dishes. The parish also holds exercise classes for seniors, distributes loaves of bread to those in need three times per week, and is launching a school supplies giveaway program. The Warrensburg church's remaining parishioners said people are very welcome to join them, boost the church's membership, and help make it as prominent in community life as it has been for centuries. Gail Needham, a longtime Warrensburg Methodist parishioner, expressed such an invitation. "We want to grow our congregation, strengthen our community ties, and preserve our church's legacy," she said.

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Wbg. church seeks resurrection, divorce from denomination

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