August 30, 2022
Though a final ruling in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) settlement has yet to be made, Judge Silverstein said in a 284-page opinion that the United Methodist piece of the settlement meets the tests of bankruptcy law. The Virginia Conference will continue to keep you updated on major developments in the court case.
Bishop John Schol, who leads the UMC BSA Leadership Team, recently informed the denomination that all present affiliation agreements (charters and facility use agreements) between the United Methodist local churches and their local BSA chapter have been automatically extended to December 31, 2022.
BSA and the General Commission on United Methodist Men (GCUMM) have executed an interim agreement in the meantime to extend the protections to the church while transitions for a final settlement are completed. No action is necessary by local churches and the interim agreement is being shared for informational purposes. Find a copy at the link…
For longer-term agreements, please note:
- The facility use agreement may be used as a standalone document if a church is allowing BSA to use the facilities. That document can be found here. It is not to be modified.
- If a church is using the new affiliation agreement, this is the standard agreement for all United Methodist congregations and is not to be modified.
For any questions related to agreements and growing Scouting, Steve Scheid, General Commission on United Methodist Men, should be contacted at [email protected].
The resources and information about the new affiliation agreement may be found here www.GCUMM.org/Scouting or directly at www.methodistscouter.org/a-new-agreement/.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters.