Leaders of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas have called for a rapid vote on whether to leave The United Methodist Church.
That vote will take place on Sunday, Oct. 25 — just two weeks after a town hall meeting where the Church Council first floated the idea of disaffiliation.
On Oct. 13, the Church Council adopted a resolution calling for the vote and rehearsing all the church’s complaints against the Horizon Texas Conference of the UMC and its bishop, Ruben Saenz.
The dispute has to do with changes made to the church’s governing documents in 2022 that the bishop says are violations of UMC policies but the church says are necessary to protects its history and assets. Those changes include a provision for secession from the denomination.
While repeatedly saying the church did not want to leave the UMC, the end result is the church now will vote for just such an action.
While repeatedly saying the church did not want to leave the UMC, the end result is the church now will vote for just such an action.
The matter has drawn national attention because HPUMC is the second-largest church in the UMC and is well-known because its location sits adjacent to Southern Methodist University.
The resolution says the actions of the bishop and the conference “have broken the bond of trust that once existed between the church and the UMC.”
Church leaders, on the other hand, have acted properly and within their rights, the resolution states.
The Church Council claims “a right of self-governance and maintaining a meaningful voice in the selection and retention of clergy serving its membership.”
Bishop Ruben Saenz has pointed out in public communication with the church that this is not how UMC polity works. Under the UMC’s rules contained in the Book of Discipline, the bishop appoints clergy and congregations are bound by common rules of governance, including the “trust clause” that says all UMC church property is held “in trust” by the denomination.
The resolution states: “Whereas, having reached this impasse, facing an uninvited lawsuit, living with the breach of trust caused by the Conference and its bishop, and being unwilling to forfeit the church’s longstanding self-governance, the Church Council has reached the conclusion that the time is right to recommend that the church sever all affiliation with the UMC while preserving the historic ministry and mission of the church and continuing the church’s faithful adherence to Wesleyan Methodist theological tradition.”
All “professing members” of HPUMC are eligible to vote on Oct. 25 and 26 and answer this question: “Shall Highland Park Methodist Church, doing business as Highland Park United Methodist Church, sever all of its ties, affiliations, and connections to The United Methodist Church?”
A vote to leave the denomination would not end the lawsuit filed against the church by the Horizon Texas Conference but most likely would accelerate and expand it.
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