Annual Conference Report

Dear Friends,

The 2023 meeting of the South Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church adjourned yesterday. This year’s conference dealt with many matters. The headline-grabbing issues relate to congregations disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church over issues related to human sexuality. I offer these words to lend some perspective to what you may have seen in the news or heard from friends.

By way of review, The United Methodist Book of Discipline does not allow for same-sex marriage, nor does it allow homosexual persons to be ordained as ministers. Only the General Conference, the world-wide legislative gathering of United Methodists, can change these prohibitions. The disaffiliating congregations are doing so out of concern that General Conference may alter this language when it meets in 2024.

Following a discernment process, 113 congregations requested to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, representing about 12% of the United Methodist congregations in South Carolina. The Annual Conference approved a resolution of disaffiliation related to these congregations, meaning that at the end of June they will no longer be part of the United Methodist Church and will not be part of the South Carolina Conference. Many of their clergy are expected to surrender their United Methodist credentials and remain in ministry with these congregations. Some of these congregations plan to unite with other denominations and some plan to remain independent.

It was a solemn moment when the names of disaffiliating congregations were read and the members of the Annual Conference prepared to vote. Bishop Holston led the body in prayer both before and after the vote was taken. In his prayer before the vote, Bishop Holston offered these words, “Regardless of what we do in this time, help us to bless each other. Help us to see your grace and your mercy for what it truly can be. And as we make the decision in this place and space, help us not to do it with a heart of anger. Help us to truly seek to be helpful to one another.”

Regardless of what votes are taken and what decisions are made, we are still called to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors. God is at work and God calls us to join in that work. God is on a mission and our mission is join ourselves and our congregation in that mission. May we, God’s church called Central, be faithful to that call. Let us resolve to join God in mission and work to advance the Kingdom of God.

I leave you with these words from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. I have shared this quote with you before, but its sentiment is as fitting now as ever. “For opinions, or terms, let us not ‘destroy the work of God.’ Dost thou love and serve God? It is enough. I give thee the right hand of fellowship.” Wesley’s antiquated language reminds us that we do not have to agree on everything.  People can disagree on important issues and still love one another.  Let us commit ourselves to love and serve God together and to love one another. God calls us to be one in Jesus Christ, even when we disagree.

May God bless you and please do not hesitate to be in touch if you would like to have further conversation.

Yours in Christ,

Thomas Smith

Summer Worship Schedule | Tidings from Thomas | April 24, 2023

Dear Friends,

Summer is always a fun time at Central with special events and programs.  The rhythm of summer is different as people travel for vacations and spend weekends out of town.  Central’s leadership teams have been having conversations about the best ways to effectively and with excellence fulfil our mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors in the different circumstances summer brings. 

Experience has shown us that both attendance and giving decline in the summer as people travel for vacations and spend weekends away.  This trend has been heightened as we emerge from Covid.  Experience has also shown us that what has worked well before Covid is not as effective as it was.  The ministry teams that oversee Sunday morning ministries recognize this and have decided to try a holy experiment.

Let’s talk about holy experiments for a moment.  Recognizing that our best efforts no longer yield the same results, we must be open to new ways of fulfilling God’s mission for Central.  In holy experimenting:

· We try new things, trusting that our efforts are focused on contributing to the fulfillment of God’s mission for us. 

· We recognize that we may not know the outcome, but that any outcome can be a step forward. 

· We adopt a learner’s attitude, staying open to God’s guidance and intervention as we go. 

· We are able to quickly pivot and adjust as needs change. 

· We allow ourselves to try new ways of being church, looking toward faithfulness to God’s mission rather than using the world’s standards of success and failure.

Embracing this idea, our Sunday morning schedule for June and July will be as follows:

9:00 AM

Sunday School for children and youth.

Adult Sunday School for classes who choose to meet at 9:00 AM

10:00 AM

Worship in both the Sanctuary and the Well

11:00 AM

Adult Sunday School for classes who choose to meet at 11:00 AM

The regular Sunday morning schedule will resume in August.

This summer schedule will give us the opportunity to worship and interact with people from other worship services who we do not see as often.  A single worship time gives us the opportunity to reunite with old friends and make new friends.  One anticipated outcome is that this summer schedule will foster a “one-church feeling.”  Another added benefit is that during the summer when so many people are traveling, this schedule lowers the pressure on our ministries that rely on volunteers to serve.

Throughout its history, Central has been willing to try new approaches in fulfilling God’s mission.  I ask for your prayers and patience as we try something new in furtherance of our mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Thomas Smith
Senior Pastor

The United Methodist Church - Tidings from Thomas

Dear Friends, 

The United Methodist Church has been much in the news over the last few months and there have been new developments in South Carolina.  I, as well as Meg and Ann, feel it is important for us to be transparent with you and share our understanding of the situation. 

It is helpful to review how we got to this point.  The story starts at General Conference, the world-wide gathering of United Methodists which meets every four years. Only the General Conference can speak for the entire United Methodist Church and only the General Conference can change our Book of Discipline. Think of the Book of Discipline as the UMC’s rule book. In 2019, there was a special session of General Conference to deal with issues related to human sexuality. The 2019 General Conference also created an avenue by which congregations could separate from the UMC. It was assumed that at the next regular General Conference, which would have been held in 2020, that some congregations, who felt they could not remain in the UMC with potential changes to the Book of Discipline, would choose to leave the denomination. Like many things set to take place in 2020, General Conference was rescheduled multiple times. It was decided to suspend meeting until the next regularly scheduled General Conference in 2024. Rather than wait until 2024, those working to form a new expression of Methodism responded by proceeding with the launch of the Global Methodist Church on May 1st, 2022.  In response to pressure related to the launch of the new denomination, the South Carolina Conference Board of Trustees, near the end of 2022, released a process by which local congregations can disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and seek affiliation with another expression of Methodism.  In other words, congregations have a process by which to join the newly formed denomination or affiliate with another form of Methodism. 

Although a process now exists, we your pastors are certain that now is not the time for Central to consider disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church.  Other congregations have entered the discernment process, but we are not at that point.  From a purely financial standpoint, the process is prohibitively expensive.  From the standpoint of polity, the United Methodist position on human sexuality has not changed.  Congregations who are disaffiliating are doing so based on what they think may happen at General Conference in 2024.  Until we know what changes may or may not come out of General Conference 2024, I firmly believe that any decision for Central to disaffiliate would be premature. In addition to the enormous financial burden disaffiliation would place on Central, we would be making a decision before having all factors known.  

You may hear about United Methodist congregations in South Carolina who have begun the discernment process, but we should only be influenced by what is right for Central.  We cannot allow ourselves to be manipulated by people who do not know our church and are not familiar with our ministry context.  We must do what is right for Central.  Most of all we must focus on the mission and ministry God had given us.  Now is the time for us not to focus on division but to focus on unity and our mission to follow Jesus by loving God and loving our neighbors.  God has given us a mission and ministry and we must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the work God entrusts to us. 

Here is the disaffiliation discernment process in summary: 

• A congregation’s Church Council can vote to initiate a season of discernment lasting a minimum of 30 days.   

• At the end of this discernment period, a Church Conference would be convened at which every professing member of a congregation is eligible to vote.   

• A resolution to disaffiliate must be approved by at least a two thirds majority. 

Additionally, disaffiliating congregations would also have to pay the Conference: 

• 10% of the appraised value of all church property and liquid assets 

• All unpaid apportionment giving for the prior year 

• Apportionment giving for the year of closure up to the date of the Annual Conference vote to close the church 

• An additional 12 months of apportionment giving 

• All unpaid salary and benefits due to clergy appointed to the church 

• A withdrawal liability equal to the church’s proportional share of any unfunded pension obligations 

You can view details the full details of the discernment process here: https://www.umcsc.org/discern/ 

I will make a presentation to our Church Council at its February 28th meeting about this process as it relates to Central.  Rev. Ann Kovan, Rev. Meg Jiunnies, and I will also be holding a video question and answer session.  You can submit your questions through this link https://centralumcflorence.wufoo.com/forms/k1ylhji31rcvm5e/ or by the paper forms located in The Commons and Well greeter tables.  

Back in May of 2022, I shared a quote with you from John Wesley.  “For opinions, or terms, let us not ‘destroy the work of God.’ Dost thou love and serve God? It is enough. I give thee the right hand of fellowship.” Wesley’s antiquated language reminds us that we do not have to agree on everything.  People can disagree on important issues and still love one another.  Let us commit ourselves to love and serve God together and to love one another. God calls us to be one in Jesus Christ, even when we disagree on important issues.   

Most of all, let us pray.  Please pray for Central and her leaders and please pray that God keep us faithful to the mission God has entrusted to us. 

Yours in Christ, 

 Thomas Smith, Senior Pastor

Merry Christmas! | Tidings from Thomas | December 25, 2022

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.  - John 1:14 

Merry Christmas! 

In and amongst the scattered wrapping paper and the dinner preparations, let us not lose sight of today’s true meaning.  God became a human being and entered the world.  Heaven touched earth and God took up residence among God’s people.  Christmas is not about presents, but it is about presence.  The primary message of Christmas is that God is with us.   

It is important that we take time in the busyness of the day to know that God is with us.  Noted author and speaker Brene Brown introduced me to the concept of mindfulness.  One way to think of mindfulness is the practice fully experiencing the present moment.  A simple mindfulness exercise is to pause in whatever you are doing and pay attention to your senses.  What do you see?  What do you hear?  What do you smell, or feel, or taste?  Linger with those sensations, focus on the experience, and simply appreciate them.  Now, add another level to that lingering.  As yourself, “Where is God in this?  What does this experience tell me about God?”  God is with you this day and every day.  Exercise mindfulness and pause to notice God’s presence. 

May God bless and once again, Merry Christmas! 

Yours in Christ, 

 Thomas Smith