Decatur FUMC | Family Conversation Resources

Special Called Administrative Board

August 16, 2022

On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 our Administrative Board met to hear a report from the Study and Facilitation Team regarding the future of our church in light of what is happening within the United Methodist Denomination. The team composed of 11 lay members met for several months and presented their findings in 5 different sub teams. The purpose of the report was to learn more about the challenges and opportunities that are ahead for our church and learn more about the options available. At the meeting there were several handouts available for those in person. We have made them available online for those who could not be in attendance. The meeting was also recorded and is available below along with our other two family conversations from earlier this year. We hope this information is helpful to you as you pray and discern the future of our church.

Discernment Process Document - STEPS FOR CORPORATE SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

United Methodist Church - UMC PRESENTATION

Global Methodist Church - INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL METHODISM

Free Methodist Church - FREE METHODIST REFERENCE SHEET

Independent Methodist Networks - INDEPENDENT METHODIST REPORT

Financial Report - FINANCIAL DISCUSSION

Legal Report - LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Study and Facilitation Team Comparison Chart - COMPARISON CHART

downarrow Please see the video section below for the recording of the Special Called Administrative Boarddownarrow

Family Conversations

Family Conversation Resources

As part of our ongoing Family Conversation around the current issues facing the United Methodist Church, we wanted to provide you with the following links that provide information around our current discussions. Many of these are the same resources our Study and Facilitation Team will be using as the do the important work of leading us through our discernment process. We hope these are helpful as you prayerfully consider how God is leading our church to move forward as a faithful congregation. This list will be regularly updated with pertinent links as necessary.

UMC Branches/Links:

Judicial Council - https://www.resourceumc.org/en/churchwide/judicial-council/judicial-council-decision-home
Bishops - https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/
General Conference - https://www.umc.org/en/who-we-are/structure/general-conference
UM News - https://www.umnews.org/en

Denominational Links

The United Methodist Church - https://www.umc.org/
Free Methodist Church - https://fmcusa.org/
Global Methodist Church - https://globalmethodist.org/

Local Sites:

North Alabama Conference - https://www.umcna.org/
Stay UMC - https://www.stayumc.com/
New Methodist Movement - https://newmethodistmovement.org/

Other Sources:

People Need Jesus - A Compendium - Compilation of sources for news and opinions on the United Methodist situation. Please note this link tracks sources from all theological positions and includes sources from both inside and outside the denomination. Some of these are links to "official sources" that detail actions that have been taken, others are opinion pieces by those who have studied and have thoughts current events, and there are also some links that are secular reporting of events within or adjacent to our current situation. https://peopleneedjesus.net/2022/05/12/um-fallout-a-compendium/