WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE UMC?

The connectional nature of the United Methodist Church allows each person to be part of something much bigger, an organization with a mission to make disciples of Christ. In recent months, you've probably read or watched reports about churches planning to leave the denomination. This has left many people with questions and/or misunderstandings about the connection and what happens if a church decides to break away from that connection.


On this page we want to provide you with resources to understand the United Methodist Connection, what it means for the church's mission and how you play a role in it all. It is our hope that the information provided will help clear up misunderstandings about what is happening within the denomination.  


In addition, Senior pastor, Rev. Jonathan Jonas, wants to chat with people interested in understanding the connection and answer your questions.  He'll be leading these small group chats on at least three Sundays in February.  If more sessions are needed we will add some.  Please see the next section for the links to sign up for the chat sessions. 

CHATS WITH REV. JONATHAN JONAS

Senior pastor, Rev. Jonathan Jonas, wants to chat with people interested in what's going on in the United Methodist Church and help clear up misunderstandings and answer your questions. If you are interested in being part of a Sunday afternoon chat group please select a date below, click the button to get to the form for that date and fill out the information on it.  


We are keeping groups to 25 or fewer people in an effort to allow everyone to be a part of the conversation. (If a group is full then please come back to this page and select another date. If needed we will schedule more chat sessions).  For questions please email Rev. Jonathan Jonas at jjonas@1stchurch.org.  

2:00 PM IN rOOM 202

2:00 PM IN ROOM 202

2:00 PM IN ROOM 202

oTHER DATES

TBD

RESOURCES

When it comes to news about churches leaving the denomination and efforts to keep the connection going there is a wealth of information out there.  With that in mind some of it may actually make it more difficult to understand as there are misunderstandings about what's happening with the UMC.  We hope the resources listed below will help you better understand the United Methodist Connection as well as the efforts of churches to leave the denomination. 

  • is the umc really ...? 

    UMC.org has been publishing a series of articles offering up factual responses to questions Ask The UMC has received.  There are currently 8 parts to this series of articles. 


    CLICK HERE TO READ


  • what should umc congregations know about about disafilliation?

    This article produced by Ask The UMC outlines the process of disaffiliation spelled out in different paragraphs from the UMC Book of Discipline. 


    CLICK HERE TO READ

  • email outlining what's going on

    On Friday, January 27th, Rev. Jonathan Jonas provided context and background to the plans for some churches to leave the denomination.  This email contains links to several local and national articles about disaffiliation. 

    CLICK TO READ THE EMAIL

  • Opinion: connection crucial to our identity

    On January 30, 2023 the Maryville Daily Times published an op/ed piece about the United Methodist Connection written by 1st UMC Senior Pastor, Rev. Jonathan Jonas. 

    (The Daily Times may limit the number of articles you can read without a subscription.)

    CLICK TO READ THE OP/ED

  • information about special called annual conference

    On April 22, 2023 clergy and laity from across the Holston Conference will gather at Central UMC in Knoxville for a special session of the Annual Conference.  The primary focus of this session will be processing qualified requests for disaffiliation under paragraph 2553 of the UMC Book of Discipline. 


    CLICK TO READ MORE