THE JOURNEY
Near of the end of May of this year, Emory United Methodist Church entered into a time of prayer and discernment as we took a deep and thorough look at who we were as a congregation and who we would like to be as a church. 97 days later, Emory united Methodist Church voted to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. As our District Superintendent presided over our Called Church Conference, 92% of those professing members decided it was time to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and pursue a relationship with The Global Methodist Church. Last night, day 101, we continued the trajectory of our time of prayer and discernment to affiliate with The Global Methodist Church. This means simply, the journey continues.
WHERE WILL WE GO?
You will still see our church here. Our body remains unchanged, but growing. Our local leadership remains unchanged, while learning. David Banks is still our pastor, and serving. We will still sing, pray, reach, teach, and serve. In 1967, our church was named Emory Methodist Church. In 2023, the name of our church will be Emory Methodist Church. Over that period of time, we have been called Emory Methodist, Emory UMC, the Methodist Church in Emory, yet we have remained who we are.
WHAT WILL WE DO?
The biggest change will be the denomination with whom we are affiliated with. There will be signs that change, but they will still point to who we are. There will be work that must be done, yet that is as consistent as the day is long.
Right now, we keep moving forward. On December 3, the Texas Annual Conference will meet to accept our request and formally make the change official. As we start the new year, January 1, we will be affiliated with the Global Methodist Church. On January 1, we will own our church property. These things will change too.
WE WILL GO OUT TO BE GOD”S PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
Our journey continues, just as it has. We will still retain the way we talk about God. We will still retain the way we talk about Jesus. We will still retain the way we talk about The Spirit. In other words, we will still reach, teach, preach, and serve as we have before we started this journey, and by God’s grace, long after we meet Christ again.
