Frequently Asked Questions

More To Know

We know there is a lot of information to take in when it comes to Exploring Our Future. Here you will find some of the most commonly asked questions about our work.

Who is on the team for Exploring Our Future?

Our Executive Council, which is the visioning body for our congregation is the team doing the work of Exploring Our Future. This team is determined annually by our Nominations Team and approved at our annual Charge Conference. Persons who serve on this team are fully engaged members giving of their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness to our church. We have tried to make it as representative of as many demographics as possible from within our church.

Chair: Jennifer Waters
Lay Representative to Annual Conference: Alie B. Gorrie
Chair of Staff-Parish Relations: Sally Bowers
Treasurer: Ralph Jolly
Lay Leader: David Olsen
Chair of Trustees: to be chosen by Trustees in January 2023
Chair of Finance: Bill McMullen
Class of 2023: Kelsey Luckianow and Howard Boyd
Class of 2024: Erika Jobes and Jill Rogers
Class of 2025: Justin Banger and Melany Morgan
Pastor: Stephanie York Arnold

Why are we Exploring our Way Forward now and not waiting until after General Conference 2024?

Our Exploring our Way Forward process is about clarifying our call and who we are. A process that we believe is important to do regularly as a church family. Our Executive Council decided in the summer of 2022 to begin this process in 2023 with the knowledge at that time that it was a necessary step of paragraph 2553 in the Book of Discipline which would end December 31, 2023. Without discerning in a formally outlined process churches could not have the option to take their property with them if they happened to choose to disaffiliate. In late 2022, our Annual Conference named that while paragraph 2553 will have ended at the end of 2023, our Annual Conference planned to work graciously with congregations who want to wait and see the outcome of General Conference 2024 before deciding whether to disaffiliate for reasons of conscious (pertaining to full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons). This information was simply not yet available when Executive Council made its decision in the summer. Realizing there will be important information and changes all along the coming months, Executive Council plans to utilize our Exploring our Way Forward process to educate our congregation about our denomination’s journey over the next several months and gain clarity about who we are called to be moving forward. There is no desire to leave the United Methodist Church. There is only a desire to fully include and love ALL.

What is the Exploring our Future/Executive Council team doing?

This team is not debating theology or determining how First Church feels about being fully inclusive – that work has already been done over the years in our congregation. We are a Reconciling United Methodist Church that seeks to be an OPEN place for ALL persons. ALL are welcome and included at First Church – that will not change. Instead, this team is learning, discussing, and sharing with the broader congregation all that is taking place in our global denomination. They will strive to understand and gauge what might be voted upon regarding full inclusion for LGBTQIA+ persons within the United Methodist Church at General Conference in 2024. From this information, they will make a recommendation regarding our denominational alliance. The Team will meet at least once a month. They will pray together, consider news from the global church regarding General Conference’s direction, listen to people from different perspectives, talk with leaders throughout the broader Methodist Church, discuss the ramifications of various decisions, and, most of all, seek to discern God’s calling for First Church. The team is seeking to discern whether we have significant reason to believe there will be a place for a fully inclusive church like First Church within the United Methodist denomination come 2024.

Will the Exploring our Future/Executive Council team determine what First Church will do?

No. They will report their prayerfully discerned recommendation to the congregation for a congregational vote if needed. A congregational vote is only needed if the Team recommends First Church to disaffiliate. Otherwise, no vote is necessary.

Does following the process laid out for Exploring our Future mean a church will ultimately disaffiliate?

The North Alabama Conference webpage explains, “Undertaking a truly Spirit-led discernment process means there is no predetermined answer a congregation is seeking. Instead, discernment is an intentional process of seeking God’s guidance as a congregation looks to its future. As North Alabama congregations work through their discernment process some are discerning to leave The United Methodist Church while others are discerning to continue as United Methodists with a renewed commitment and a clear vision for ministry.”

First Church intends to use the Bishop’s process for discernment to be a year-long process of educating our congregation on what is happening globally in the United Methodist Church and prayerfully listening to our congregation’s hopes for the future. We don’t know where we will ultimately end up as much is still unknown about General Conference 2024, however, we are not longing to disaffiliate. We are hopeful that there will be changes made to the Book of Discipline to remove the harmful language regarding human sexuality and gender which will make space for a church like First Church to move forward as a United Methodist congregation.

How will the voices of the First Church family be heard?

Throughout the coming year, there will be a number of Listening and Learning sessions hosted for our congregation. Team members will also be available for one-to-one conversation and small group discussions as requested.

What can we do to be helpful?

There are multiple ways that you can support the work of Exploring Our Future in 2023. 1) You can pray for the Team as a whole and as individuals. You can also pray for all those who call First Church their home. 2) You can become informed, not just by groups that you agree with, but truly informed, recognizing that human error and sin in the form of gossip and judgment often create pain and division. 3) Be kind and sensitive to LGBTQIA+ persons because they often feel like the Church universal is voting on whether they are welcome in our denomination. Be kind and sensitive to our long time United Methodists who very much want to be inclusive of ALL people but for whom the idea of possibly giving up their identity as United Methodist is grief ridden and frightening. 4) Listen to people who think differently than you. This is how we grow in our understanding. The ability to respect people who think differently than we do is part of what makes a person and our church strong and wise. 5) Assume good will from others, especially those in leadership and those who have a different perspective than you do. This is hard work that none of us are wanting to do, rather, it is work we feel responsible to do for the health of our beloved congregation.

Are many churches in the North Alabama Conference leaving the UMC?

There are many churches in the discernment process but being in the discernment process does not mean a church is leaving the UMC. Most churches that have announced they are leaving are small churches, though there are a couple of large churches that have indicated they are leaving. There are Special Called Annual Conferences planned for December 2022, May 2023, and another likely in December 2023 for churches to disaffiliate if needed. According to paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline churches wishing to disaffiliate because of issues related to human sexuality and gender must do so by December 31, 2023.

Are all of the churches that are leaving the UMC joining the Global Methodist Church?

No. Some are joining other denominations like Free Methodists and some are becoming independent churches.

If a church decides to leave is there a cost?

The simple answer is, yes. Each Annual Conference is handling the cost of leaving differently. In the North Alabama Conference, a church is required to go through a discernment process, pay its unfunded pension liabilities, and pay its apportionments to leave by December 31, 2023. The cost to disaffiliate changes each quarter based upon market changes. Once these criteria are all met the church is blessed by the Annual Conference to leave with its property.

What decisions are being made within the North Alabama Conference at this time to ensure a healthy environment for all churches?

The North Alabama Conference has pulled together a group of laity and clergy to help shepherd our Conference connection in this difficult time. Here is a video that they have put out as well as their latest update from their work together. You can find regular updates on the Conference website.