Many of you know that I spent seven days over the last two weeks at conversations in Nashville and Dallas regarding the future of the United Methodist Church. I’ll share a little bit of that experience with you on Sunday. What I want you to know today is that much like our country as a whole, our United Methodist Church is experiencing extreme division. There are three proposals for how to move through this, which have now been released. You can read about them or download the 231 page document here.
I have publicly endorsed what is called the One Church Plan, a compromise to keep the majority of churches in the denomination while allowing room for differences of opinion and practice. I believe that this is the only true path forward for our denomination right now and will be working actively towards its approval. Over the next several months you will undoubtedly hear a great deal about this.
What I want you to know is that regardless of what you hear, St. Paul’s will continue to be St. Paul’s. We simply can’t be anything else. I wouldn’t want this church to be anything else. We’ll work together on what that means in the months and years ahead. For today, I’m still grateful to be a United Methodist pastor because of our rich heritage of offering grace and love to a broken world. I hope you’ll join me praying for our Church and working for God’s Kingdom just like we always have.