Why Was Banner Mobilizing Members To Come Up Publically Removed From The Church’s Chat Rooms?– “No To Biblical Contradictions…Special Session Or No Session”
By Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
It would appear that a pressure cooker atmosphere is developing within the United Methodist Church in Liberia over the controversial decision reached last month (May 2024) by UMC General Conference in the United States to embrace homosexuality/LGBTQ.
However, there are indications of rising anxiety creeping in within Liberia UMC over the Church’s leadership failure so far to take a public position on the recent decision in the US, with the popping up of a banner in one of the Church’s chat Rooms. One banner was mobilizing the Methodist congregation to come up and demand the holding of a special session of the Liberia Annual conference on the matter.
First United Methodist Church on Ashmun Street, Monrovia–one of the oldest churches in Liberia
“Special session or no session,” says the banner which was later removed from the chatroom, adding—“no to Biblical contradictions”.
Some sources in the UMC in Liberia say members in Liberia have been told by the Church’s hierarchy, who attended the conference in the US, to play a low profile of the move and not go public for now.
But the appearance of the latest banner in the UMC members’ chatroom could be sign of an internal dissent waiting to happen in the local church concerning this issue of embracing homosexuality in this church.
The banner
At the meeting in the US early this month, United Methodist General Conference, the church’s global legislative body, voted to overturn every ban on LGBTQ people. The historic changes include a new definition of marriage as a lifelong covenant between “two people of faith,” rather than solely between a man and a woman, and a repeal of its ban on LGBTQ clergy, although Reverend Jerry Kulah, a delegate from Liberia, was quoted as saying,, “We do not believe we know better than the Bible.”
But unlike Methodist Churches in other African countries including neighbouring Ivory Coast, the leadership of the UMC/Liberia Annual Conference has been publicly silent on the issue ever since May 10, 2024, while their but their fellow Methodist church in the Ivory Coast has stated its position by last week voting to leave the United Methodist Church.
The General Conference also struck down a 52-year-old stance on homosexuality being “incompatible with Christian teaching.” At A Meeting In The US: United Methodist Church Holds Historic Vote in Favour Of LGBTQ Inclusion – News Public Trust
The Conference gave a new definition of marriage that it is a lifelong covenant between “two people of faith”, meaning between male and male, female and female or the opposite sex.
Last week, the United Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast took a firm position on the move regarding homosexuality in the Church.
“The Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Cote d’Ivoire gathered in its extraordinary session on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at the Jubilee Temple Cocody, for reasons of conscience, before God and before the word, supreme authority in matters of faith and life. Decide to leave the United Methodist Church denomination,” says the Ivory Coast UMC’s Annual Conference.
Ivory Coast UMC Declaration