Discernment Update
As you may be aware, our church council voted to enter into discernment to determine if St. John would like to separate from the United Methodist Church. Many United Methodist Church (UMC) congregations throughout the United States have chosen to disaffiliate from the UMC starting in 2020. In our state of South Carolina, there were over 200 churches that voted to separate due to major differences between traditional and the current progressive Christianity of the UMC. In July of this year the Trustees of the South Carolina Annual Conference voted to allow one more year of separation.
We have determined that the cost will be approximately $115,000.00. Final cost will be determined by the conference. We have an account set up if anyone would like to contribute to this cost. However, we want to assure the congregation that we will have the monies available on the required date of May 30, 2025.
If you are a member, you will be allowed to vote. This includes children of the age of 12 that has completed confirmation. We are not able to request a vote to separate until January 1, 2025, with the District Office. The District Office will choose a date and time. This vote will occur between January 15, 2025, and March 1, 2025, and will be held at St. John. We will provide the information to each member as soon as we are informed.
If we vote to separate, we will have a committee that will review several options available to St. John going forward. The Church Council in conjunction with the congregation will vote the best option that serves the needs of our church.
There will be an informational and discussion meeting on: Sunday, November 3rd at 3:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Anyone that wishes to speak will be welcome to speak during this time.
This is an important time in our church. We need to have love, order and respect during this process.