By: Moses M. Tokpah
Email: editor@news.throngtalk.com
+231777130958 / 0886476114
The Chairperson on the Regionalization Taskforce and Director for At-Risk Youth Program of the United Methodist Church, Liberia Area, Caleb S.G. Dormah has clarified that there is no comment in the regionalization petition called ‘same sex marriage’.
Director Caleb told reporter at the 27th Annual Session of the Weala District Conference LAC/UMC in Bong Mines, Bong County on January 17, 2025 that he thinks those who have spoken about regionalization in the Church have never read anything on the 8-petition regarding the regionalization plan.
It can be recalled that the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters collaborated with the Connectional Table and the Christmas Covenant team to submit one set of eight revised petitions that call for the creation of a US Regional Conference; amend the Constitution to establish regions around the denomination with the ability to legislate; and create an interim legislative body in the United States.
The legislation to provide for Worldwide Regionalization reflects the strong values of equity, respect for contextual mission settings, effective mutuality in mission, and legislative equality for regional bodies of the church.
Recognizing the effects of colonization, the guiding principle for the regionalization legislation is to empower each region to make certain context-specific decisions in real-time without being dependent on General Conference, as well as de-centralizing the influence of the United States on General Conference.
The legislation also creates a committee to discern other opportunities that emerge from regionalization. Once approved at General Conference, the legislation will require approval in the annual conferences.
The regionalization legislation puts an end to imposing cultural views of one region of the world onto another, fostering a sense of identity and belonging that’s essential in our global connection.
By celebrating the diversity of our respective mission settings, regional governance offers a vibrant and hopeful vision for the United Methodist Church now and into the future.
The petitions include Constitutional Changes, Changes in the Book of Discipline necessitated by constitutional changes, enabling Legislation to update Paragraph 2201 on the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters, and enabling Legislation to replace “central conference” with “regional conference” throughout the Discipline after ratification of constitutional amendments.
Others are creating a new paragraph 507 to establish an interim US Regional Committee, Non-Disciplinary Petition enabling the creation of an interim US Regional Committee, Non-Disciplinary Petition to Create a Plan for Organization of a US Regional Conference and Non-Disciplinary Petition to Update and Perfect Regional Conference Structure.
This regionalization petition has sparked debates amongst some members of the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church who believe that the regionalization petitions is aimed at making the practice of same sex marriage legal in the UMC in Liberia.
There have been series of protests by some members and pastors of some local Churches in parts of Liberia including Monrovia and Nimba and other places demanding a proper explaining from Bishop Samuel J. Quire regarding the outcomes of the 2024 General Conference held in the United States of America.
But the UMC’s Regionalization Taskforce chairperson explained that the new book of discipline does not talk about same sex marriage, but said people are bent on intentionally changing the message regarding the regionalization petition.
“Anybody who finds anything about same sex marriage in the 8-petition should come and tell me and I will owe him five hundred dollars, and I will take off my clerical for life” he vowed.
He argued that homosexuality is wrong and it is an abomination that the Church does not stand with thereby clarifying that the United Methodist Church is not a gay Church and as such, same sex marriage will not be practiced in the denomination.
Mr. Caleb furthered that the Liberian culture does not permit same sex marriage and as such, if United Methodists practice it, the Liberian law will put them behind bars.
Meanwhile, Caleb has accused the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) of being behind the ongoing rigmarole in the UMC.
He alleged that the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA) that established the Global Methodist Church has a website called ‘africanowinitiative’ where it is said that in the next two years it will raise $5m to disrupt the three central conferences in Africa so that the United Methodist Church can break up and move the people to the GMC.
He said it started long before the general conference when a group of Liberians joined other Africans in Kenya on a prayer summit and met with the Global Methodist Church (GMC), a break away from the UMC and the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA).
He narrated that upon their return, Dr. Jerry Kulah wrote a press release and indicated that they met under the guidance of GMC and it was agreed that they will not agree on regionalization plan and it will do everything to destabilize the UMC in Africa thereafter, it will form its own Central Conferences and elect her own Bishops and then go independent or go to the GMC.
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