From Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — Church congregations in Trussville, Pinson, Clay and Moody have joined several hundred other churches in the North Alabama Conference in voting to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. The UMC announced their departure on Thursday, May 11.
Former United Methodist Church congregations in Palmerdale, Clearview (Trussville), Springville, and Leeds, were granted disaffiliation from the UMC on December 10, 2022.
A letter to congregants announcing that the United Methodist Church had approved the disaffiliation vote and explaining the steps forward was posted on the First Methodist Church of Trussville website on Thursday.
“On April 23, 2023 our church voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, and on May 11, 2023 the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church held a Called Special Session and approved our disaffiliation. We will no longer be called Trussville First United Methodist Church. Our new name will be First Methodist Church of Trussville, inspired by the 1954 cornerstone of the Education Building of our church,” according to the letter.
The vote to disaffiliate required a two-thirds majority. In Trussville, the vote was 296 to disaffiliate to 83 who voted to remain in the UMC. Disaffiliation passed by a margin of 78% to 22%.
Years-long discussion and disagreement among congregations on the ordaining of openly gay ministers and conducting weddings for same sex couples led to the split. While the UMC still holds to the biblical view of these issues and prohibits ordaining openly gay ministers and conducting same sex marriages, uncertainty of the future led to the departure of the more conservative congregations.
In the North Alabama Conference, over half of the churches have left the UMC. According to Greg Garrison, 330 churches out of the 638 NAC congregations have disaffiliated from the UMC. Nationwide, over 3,200 congregations have left the UMC.
While some congregations are expected to remain independent, many are expected to join the Global Methodist Church or the Free Methodist Church organizations. The window for local churches to negotiate their disaffiliation from the UMC remains open through 2023.