BY
BISHOP SAMUEL JEROME QUIRE, JR.
RESIDENT BISHOP
LIBERIA EPISCOPAL AREA
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
JUNE 7 TH , 2024
My Brothers and Sisters of the Liberia Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church,
Members of my Cabinet, members of the Press, my fellow Liberians.
It is a joy to be back in Liberia following the historic and momentous General Conference of
The United Methodist Church held from April 23 to May 31, 2024 in Charlotte, North
Carolina, United States of America.
The General Conference is the Legislative Assembly of The United Methodist Church and is
the only body of our denomination that speaks officially for the whole church.
Today, I am making this statement to set the record straight about what happened at the
General Conference, what it means for our Denomination, (The World-wide United
Methodist Church), and how The United Methodist Church in Liberia will be operated going
forward.
You have heard a lot of messages being shared on social and secular media about human
sexuality and The United Methodist Church. Some of those messages are misleading and
very derogatory. As a matter of fact, there was a group of young people who came out with
placards carrying some of these demeaning messages. However, instead of speaking about
all these misleading pieces of information being filtering in the air about our beloved United
Methodist Church, I will focus on three decisions of the General Conference about which
there is much discussion and misinformation: homosexuality, disaffiliation and
regionalization.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE GENERAL CONFERENCE?
The General Conference voted to remove language in the United Methodist Book of
Discipline prohibiting marriage and ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals in The
United Methodist Church effective upon the close of the General Conference on May 3,
2024. Second, the General Conference voted to remove paragraph 2553, which has to do
with disaffiliation (a paragraph created in 2019, after the Special General Conference, to
allow churches in the United States to leave the United Methodist Church), and thirdly, the
General Conference approved a plan of regionalization for the United Methodist Church
which will take effect upon ratification by the annual conferences of The United Methodist
Church. These three decisions of the General Conference have caused a lot of confusion and
misleading messages about what will happen in our Church. Let me clarify what these
decisions mean and how they may affect the United Methodist Church in Liberia.
What These Decisions Mean for The United Methodist Church in Liberia?
First, let me address the decision removing prohibitive language against marriage and
ordination of self-avowed, practicing homosexuals in The United Methodist Church. In 1968,
the Methodist Episcopal Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to
form The United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, the United States of America. Four years
later, at the first United Methodist General Conference, a proposal to prohibit homosexual
marriage and ordination was approved and placed in the Book of Discipline. Over the years
since 1972 General Conference, United Methodists have debated this restriction with
increasing intensity. At the same time, our churches in Africa have held to the conviction
that we do not support homosexual marriage and ordination. In 2016, the General
Conference authorized and the Council of Bishops appointed a Commission on the Way
Forward with mandate to bring a plan to a special General Conference in 2019 to determine
how our worldwide United Methodist Church should move forward and focus on the primary
mission of the Church which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world. The Commission recommended the One Church Plan which would have allowed
traditionalists and progressives to live together in one church where churches would remove
the restrictions while allowing regional flexibility on our differences on homosexual marriage
and ordination. That plan did not get approved. Instead, the General Conference decided to
maintain its position prohibiting marriage ad ordination of self-avowed, practicing
homosexuals. That decision created more tensions and in-fighting among United
Methodists, especially in the United States.
With the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the 2020 General Conference was postponed and did
not meet until 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to the 2024 General Conference,
traditionalist United Methodists primarily in the United States created the Global Methodist
Church and began to campaign against the United Methodist Church. That campaign was
extended to Africa with a goal of recruiting United Methodist Churches in Africa to join the
Global Methodist Church, they did not have votes in the 2024 United Methodist General
Conference. So, the2024 General Conference met and made its decisions.
The removal of restrictions on marriage and ordination for self-avowed, practicing
homosexuals means “that those Conferences that wish to marry and/or ordain self-avowed,
practicing homosexuals can do so. It also means that those of us in Africa, and especially for
us in Liberia are free not to allow such marriages and/or ordinations for self-avowed
practicing homosexuals. Infact, the 2024 General Conference also approved to allow every
pastor of The United Methodist Church to be free not to perform homosexual marriages if
the pastor so chooses.
Secondly, the General Conference voted to remove paragraph 2553, which was inserted in
the2016 Book of Discipline, following the conclusion of the 2019 Special General Conference.
This paragraph was created to allow local churches and annual conferences to leave the
Denomination, under the assumption that General Conference would have been held in
2020. This paragraph was limited to the churches in the United States, excluding the Central
Conference (Conferences outside the United States).
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic struck the whole world and the 2020 General
Conference was postponed twice until it was finally held in 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina,
USA. A petition to bring disaffiliation on the floor was sponsored by some of our delegates
from the Liberia Episcopal Area; unfortunately, it was defeated on the flour, hence, the
paragraph on disaffiliation was closed. Therefore, it means that the door is closed for those
United Methodist Annual Conferences who want to leave the United Methodist Church.
Thirdly, let me address the approval of regionalization. Regionalization seeks to amend the
structure of the Church. The structure of the Church has been deeply American “Centric”.
Regionalization is empowering churches, Annual Conferences across the world to make
ministry and missional decisions appropriate for their context in order to be more relevant
and effective. Since the contextual realities of Africa are different from those of America,
Europe and Asia, African Conferences will decide what is needed to advance the disciple-
making mission of the United Methodist Church in Africa. This means that Liberia will not
tell those in America, Europe and Asia how to do their work in those countries.
According to summaries of regionalization sent by Linda B. Tate, Special Assistant to the
Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops, World-wide “Regionalization will change the
name of each current Central Conference into Regional Conference”; it will transform the
General Conference. Its agenda will no longer be dominated by United States topics. The
Church in the United States will have their own regional conference in which they will deal
with these matters.
For too long, the more powerful parts of the Church have imposed their will upon the less
powerful. Regionalization will enable the United Methodist Church in Liberia to focus on its
mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, and not to be
distracted by debates over who wants to be who.
Furthermore, regionalization is a vehicle that will enable The United Methodist Church in
Liberia to make and enforce relevant policies to guide and direct our missional priorities
going forward. Regionalization, because it amends the church’s constitution, must be
ratified by the annual conferences before going into effect. The modality for the ratification
of regionalization will be put into place in the next six months, for further conversations,
consultations and awareness throughout the Liberia Episcopal Area. Once the plan is ratified
across all the annual conferences around the world, the Council of Bishops will announce the
results and the plan will go into effect.
HOW WILL THE UMC IN LIBERIA BE OPERATED?
Whether Regionalization is ratified or not, the Liberia Annual Conference of The United
Methodist Church will not conduct any weddings or ordinations of self-avowed, practicing
homosexuals. The Liberia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church is traditional
in its interpretation of Holy Scripture and will continue its evangelistic outreach to all
persons who live in darkness and do not know the redemptive grace of our Lord, Jesus
Christ. We will continue to extend scriptural holiness to all persons by the amazing grace of
God!
The United Methodist Church in Liberia will continue to abide by the beckoning summons of
our Lord Jesus Christ when He says, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.” Our mission is to “make disciples of all nations; to baptize them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to obey all
that [God] has commanded us!”
I have met with my cabinet this morning and we have pondered these decisions and will
continue to discuss them adequately so as to enable us disseminate same to our various
districts and circuits. We will roll out the plan of regionalization in the days, weeks and
months leading to our 192 nd Annual Session in February in Ganta City, Gompa District in
2024. We will also have conversations with the executive committee of the Liberia Episcopal
Area to share with them the decisions of the 2024 General Conference as I have shared with
you today. We strongly caution all clergy members, as well as lay persons of the Liberia
Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church, to refrain from undermining the ministry
of the United Methodist Church. Undermining the ministry of the Church or the ministry of
other clergy is a chargeable offense that will be enforced for the sake of maintaining the
order of the Church.
To all United Methodists in Liberia and our Liberian public, The United Methodist Church is
not a GAY Church! It is a strong Church of God administering to sinners who are in need of
the saving knowledge and grace of God! It is a worldwide denomination that is making a
significant impact on our World!
Yes, there are differences of opinion and conviction across our denomination. But the
mission remains the same because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 RSV).
“BE A UNITED METHODIST, LOVE THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
AND STAY A UNITED METHODIST.”
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
AMEN AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
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