When a vote is taken, it stands to reason that there are winners and losers.
Yet today, it’s hard to imagine that anyone who calls Columbus First United Methodist Church his/her church home is celebrating. It’s even harder to imagine that the prevailing emotion of anyone in the church is anything other than sadness.
On Sunday, by a painfully narrow margin, the church membership voted to disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church, the second largest protestant church in the world with more than 6 million members. The United Methodist Church created a process by which a church could leave the organization four years ago as the debate over ordination of LGBT pastors and same-sex marriage ceremonies increased.
Since 2019, more than 60 Mississippi Methodist churches have voted to leave. In the Golden Triangle, Caledonia/Flint Hill Church, St. Stephen’s in Columbus, Hamilton and Long View in Starkville have chosen to leave the United Methodist Church organization.
The United Methodist Church has set Dec. 31 as a deadline for individual churches to make a decision.
According to the process, a church can disaffiliate by a vote. It requires two-thirds (66.7 percent) of the voters approving disaffiliation to be accepted by the United Methodist Church.
On Sunday, Columbus FUMC voted to leave by the narrowest margin — 222-107 for a percentage of 67.4 percent. The issue was decided by just three votes.
This is not how the church intended to celebrate its 200th anniversary year.
What lies ahead for the congregation is uncertain. It will have to pay a considerable amount of money to meet the obligations it has to United Methodist Church. It could mean a change to the pastoral staff, as well.
There is also the matter of whether the 107 members who voted to remain affiliated with the United Methodist Church will continue attending the church or will seek another United Methodist Church as their home.
Given the long history of Columbus FUMC, some of those members will stay. They’ve been members for decades, have had weddings and funerals for their families there. The associations are deeply-rooted.
Others, especially LGBT members, are deeply wounded by the votes to leave cast by the people they attended Sunday School with, worked with on church organizations and fellowshipped with for years.
We offer no opinion of the vote because that decision rests with the membership alone.
But we do regret the likely departure of so many in the church family.
For those who are in pain, we offer our sympathy and our hopes that they will find a way forward in grace.
Sunday was a difficult day for all.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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