To close observers of The United Methodist Church, the current legal wranglings over Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas might sound familiar. A similar story played out four years ago in Arkansas, in what was then the second-largest UMC…
Somewhere along the line, HPUMC forgot an important concept
As a 21-year-old, serving my first full-time church “gig” as youth director at Calvary United Methodist Church in Paris, Texas, I quickly learned just how influential Highland Park United Methodist Church was. My first annual conference took place at Highland…
Dallas megachurch overwhelmingly votes to leave UMC
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available. Ninety percent of the voting members of Highland Park Methodist Church voted to leave The United Methodist Church, following a recommendation of the Church Council….
35 clergy and family of clergy appeal for no vote at HPUMC
Thirty-five clergy or family members of clergy who have served or been members of Highland Park United Methodist Church issued a letter Oct. 23 opposing this weekend’s vote on disaffiliation with The United Methodist Church. The Church Council of the…
Current and past senior ministers urge HPUMC to vote for disaffiliation
The current senior minister of Highland Park United Methodist Church and his two immediate predecessors have sent a message to congregants about why they should vote to leave The United Methodist Church. And the three senior ministers directly counter the…
Prominent members weigh in on HPUMC vote
As the nation’s wealthiest United Methodist church readies to vote on a proposed split with its denomination, some church members are weighing in publicly with their opinions. Members of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas will vote this coming…
Here’s what a Baptist sees in the HPUMC legal dispute
Here’s how this looks to a Baptist outsider with more than average knowledge of The United Methodist Church: The denomination’s second-largest church intentionally changed its governing documents to allow the possibility of withdrawing from the UMC. And once the denomination…
HPUMC sought to be ‘legally insulated’ from UMC strife
Changes made to the governing documents of Highland Park United Methodist Church in 2022 were to “ensure that if the church maintained its ecclesiastical connection with the UMC, it was legally insulated from the ecclesiastical and doctrinal strife within UMC,”…