Many conservative congregations nationwide have left the UMC in recent months or are in the process of leaving because they disagree with the denomination’s stance on issues including same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay pastors. 

A Dallas-area church with more than 6,500 members said it will disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church and will remain independent while it investigates alliances with other Methodist denominations.
Senior Pastor Arthur Jones of St. Andrew United Methodist Church of Plano, along with Kathy King, chair of the church’s executive committee, said in a post on the church’s website that founding pastor Robert Hasley began to consider disaffiliation “years ago” and asked a group of lay leaders to “monitor the inevitable fragmenting of the United Methodist Church.”
Hasley, who served the church for 36 years, died of cancer in July at age 70. However, the church said, lay leaders were able to watch a video that he had recorded in May sharing his view that disaffiliation was necessary.
The decision to disaffiliate was made by the church’s executive committee and was not put to a vote by the congregation. 
Many conservative congregations nationwide have left the UMC in recent months or are in the process of leaving because they disagree with the denomination’s stance on issues including same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay pastors. 

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The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that 14 parishes that left the Episcopal Church in 2012 to join the Anglican Church in North America must return their property to the Episcopal Church. The parishes had left the denomination over its acceptance of same-sex marriage and its policy that allowed the ordination of gay clergy.
The court ruled April 20 that the churches had agreed to an Episcopal Church tenet that places all parish properties in a trust belonging to the national church—meaning the properties, including the St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center on Seabrook Island, belong to the diocese, Episcopal News Service reported.
The court also found that 15 of the total 29 parishes that left did not agree to such a trust and will retain title to their real estate.
Churches that must forfeit their property include Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant; Good Shepherd, Charleston; Holy Comforter, Sumter; Holy Cross, Stateburg; Holy Trinity, Charleston; St. Bartholomew’s, Hartsville; St. David’s, Cheraw; St. Luke’s, Hilton Head; St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte; St. James, Charleston; St. John’s, Johns Island; St. Jude’s, Walterboro; Trinity, Myrtle Beach; and Old St. Andrew’s, Charleston.
The Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, said that while the decision will “no doubt bring joy to many in our diocese…there will be grief in the possible finality of a loss they have been feeling for nearly 10 years.”
The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was one of the nine original dioceses that formed The Episcopal Church in America in 1785.
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In the context of a morning chapel sermon on 2 Corinthians 5, Daniels discussed topics including identity, saying the struggle to know who we are is “a big deal, both in Christian circles as well as non-Christian circles,” and that social media adds to the confusion.

Students at Gordon College organized a rally “in solidarity with women and the LGBTQA+ community” after a speaker made what were characterized as misogynistic and transphobic remarks during a chapel service.
Marvin Daniels, the executive director and CEO of The Hope Center, a nonprofit that serves children, youth, and families in Kansas City, Missouri, was scheduled as a featured speaker for the Wenham, Mass. college’s annual Deep Faith Week starting Feb. 14, the Gordon Review reported.
Daniels has led the Hope Center since 2014 and held previous leadership positions at Compassion International and Kids Across America. He also worked as youth pastor at Merrill Avenue Baptist Church in Chicago.
In the context of a morning chapel sermon on 2 Corinthians 5, Daniels discussed topics including identity, saying the struggle to know who we are is “a big deal, both in Christian circles as well as non-Christian circles,” and that social media adds to the confusion.
According to a transcript of his talk linked to by the Review, Daniels shared that he believed Jesus would say, “You know what, if you hang with me, I can tell you who you are. I’ve designed you, I fashioned you as my masterpiece. I’m perfect in all that I do. So, when I create you, I create you with perfection. You don’t need to live in confusion, because if I design you to be male and I designed you to be female in my perfection, I’ve done that.”
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