October 7, 2023
A Special Called Annual Conference session was held on October 7, 2023 for the Virginia Annual Conference membership to consider the ratification of 120 local churches seeking to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church over matters of human sexuality using Paragraph 2553 of the Book of Discipline.
Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson presided over the special Called Annual Conference session.
Mrs. Martha Stokes, conference lay leader, opened the session at 9 a.m. with prayer. She prayed for a future filled with hope and joy and that God would engage people in mission and that the people called United Methodist would be The United Methodist Church God calls for.
Rev. Dr. Victor Gomez offered a prayer for God’s peace and shalom following the news that Palestine and Israel are at war.
The Trustees president Kathy Lutman read all the names of the churches seeking ratification to disaffiliate while pictures of the individual churches were shown.
Bishop Sue invited the conference to a time of discussion on the motion presented by the Board of Trustees. After a time when Bishop Sue invited members to pray for these churches, no discussion was brought to the floor by the members and Bishop Sue brought the motion to a vote.
By an Annual Conference vote, 92% of members voted “yes” and 8% of members voted “no” to ratify the disaffiliation of 120 churches. These churches(with their disaffiliation amounts below) disaffiliated under Paragraph 2553 in the October 7 session as a block:
Coastal Virginia District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Good Hope UMC | $79,340.00 |
| Guilford UMC | $59,484.00 |
| Market Street UMC | $183,297.00 |
| Smith’s Chapel UMC | $51,023.00 |
| Snead Memorial UMC | $33,427.00 |
Living Waters District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Antioch UMC | $31,585.00 |
| Asbury UMC | $89,191.83 |
| Barnes UMC | $35,436.00 |
| Bethany UMC | $51,513.00 |
| Bethel UMC | $15,749.00 |
| Boydton UMC | $49,880.00 |
| Capron UMC | $71,890.00 |
| Charlotte Court House UMC | $22,488.00 |
| Corinth UMC | $12,898.00 |
| Courtland UMC | $108,451.00 |
| Ebenezer UMC | $15,312.00 |
| Hebron UMC | $19,137.00 |
| Ivey Memorial UMC | $232,757.00 |
| Jetersville UMC | $40,204.00 |
| Joyner UMC | $17,003.00 |
| Kingswood UMC | $34,488.00 |
| LaCrosse UMC | $33,065.00 |
| Matthews Chapel UMC | $29,048.00 |
| Philadelphia UMC | $20,627.00 |
| Rehoboth UMC (Boydton) | $12,650.00 |
| Rehoboth UMC (Lakeland Charge) | $48,357.00 |
| Rocky Hock UMC | $68,380.00 |
| Salem UMC (Dillwyn Charge) | $38,219.00 |
| Salem UMC (North Amelia Charge) | $33,206.00 |
| Salem UMC (Petersburg–PG Cooperative) | $33,937.00 |
| Somerton UMC | $32,192.00 |
| Thomas Chapel UMC | $33,641.00 |
| Trinity UMC | $40,159.00 |
| White Hall UMC | $30,079.00 |
| White Oak UMC | $17,064.00 |
| Williams UMC | $14,877.00 |
| Zion UMC | $6,237.00 |
Mission Rivers District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Bethel UMC | $85,677.00 |
| Beulah UMC | $63,467.00 |
| Clarksbury UMC | $106,856.17 |
| Epworth UMC | $72,517.00 |
| McKendree UMC | $73,110.00 |
| Melrose UMC | $141,331.00 |
| Olivet UMC | $23,002.00 |
| Pamunkey UMC | $20,157.00 |
| Parkview UMC | $42,984.00 |
| Saint Mark’s UMC | $214,784.00 |
| Saint Paul UMC | $77,238.00 |
| Salem UMC | $135,954.00 |
| Tabernacle UMC | $108,203.00 |
| White Stone UMC | $199,589.00 |
Mountain View District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Anderson Memorial UMC | $64,845.00 |
| Bethesda UMC | $79,128.00 |
| Calvary UMC | $39,089.00 |
| Crafts UMC | $29,401.00 |
| Ebenezer UMC | $17,413.00 |
| Epworth UMC | $92,251.00 |
| Flint Hill UMC | $30,425.00 |
| Indian Hill UMC | $46,860.00 |
| Marsh Memorial UMC | $84,437.00 |
| Motley UMC | $47,257.00 |
| Mount Hermon UMC | $85,213.00 |
| New Bethel UMC (Campbell) | $45,610.00 |
| New Bethel UMC (Pittsylvania) | $46,218.00 |
| Otterville UMC | $22,141.00 |
| Penhook UMC | $66,475.00 |
| Providence UMC | $32,027.00 |
| Salem UMC (Bedford) | $18,418.31 |
| Salem UMC (Campbell) | $68,631.27 |
| Tyreeanna UMC | $37,716.00 |
| Union UMC | $15,589.00 |
| Whites UMC | $45,126.00 |
Northern Virginia District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| First Korean UMC | $84,862.00 |
| Smith Chapel UMC | $40,600.00 |
Shenandoah River District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Annex UMC | $99,764.20 |
| Bethel UMC | $34,686.00 |
| Burnt Factory UMC | $429,446.00 |
| Clover Hill UMC | $85,385.00 |
| Crimora UMC | $70,311.70 |
| East Point UMC | $27,801.06 |
| Evangelical UMC | $121,914.00 |
| Fellowship UMC | $43,875.00 |
| Gainesboro UMC | $29,419.00 |
| Grove Hill UMC | $20,232.00 |
| Hawkinstown UMC | $13,021.00 |
| Limeton UMC | $45,162.00 |
| Linden UMC | $40,985.00 |
| Little Mountain UMC | $25,424.00 |
| Mount Bethel UMC | $29,246.78 |
| Mount Pisgah UMC | $176,899.00 |
| Mount Pleasant UMC | $75,211.00 |
| Oak Grove UMC | $28,913.00 |
| Otterbein Chapel UMC | $30,463.00 |
| Parnassus UMC | $59,062.00 |
| Riverside UMC | $66,468.00 |
| Riverton UMC | $407,891.79 |
| Saint Peter’s UMC | $33,563.86 |
| St. John’s UMC | $71,154.00 |
| Trinity UMC | $12,292.23 |
| Wesley Chapel UMC (Edinburg) | $55,956.00 |
| Wesley Chapel UMC (Frederick) | $23,024.00 |
| Wesley UMC | $116,803.00 |
| White Hall UMC | $75,596.00 |
Three Notch’d District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Bethlehem UMC | $100,625.27 |
| Beulah UMC | $590,858.00 |
| Calvary UMC | $155,045.00 |
| Mount Olivet UMC | $6,570.00 |
| Oak Grove UMC | $40,084.00 |
Valley Ridge District
| Church | Disaffiliation Payment |
| Bethlehem UMC | $48,540.35 |
| Burnsville UMC | $28,116.00 |
| Eden UMC | $39,958.14 |
| Iron Gate UMC | $18,768.00 |
| Lyndhurst UMC | $70,804.00 |
| Mount Carmel UMC | $99,555.00 |
| Prices Fork UMC | $41,737.00 |
| Saint Paul’s UMC (Craigsville) | $35,044.00 |
| Saint Paul’s UMC (Staunton) | $306,916.94 |
| Sherando UMC | $56,107.00 |
| Virginia Chapel UMC | $32,199.91 |
| Walton Memorial UMC | $14,452.00 |
The Minutes of the conference sessions will be shared when they are available from the conference Minutes Committee. They will be posted on the conference website at www.vaumc.org/ac2023oct and also shared on ClergyNet and LaityNet.
Bishop Sue shared that she felt great sadness viewing the pictures of the churches that disaffiliated this Annual Conference session. Overall the Virginia Conference has lost 10% of its churches.
Looking at the pictures, she thought of the people who knew Christ in their buildings and of the labor, time, energy, evangelism, pot luck dinners, weddings, funerals, and memorials that had taken place in the buildings.
She wished these departing churches well and tremendous ministries in their future.
She hoped for all churches that there would be a new sense of what is urgent in church ministries and that there would be a refocus on saving souls.
Bishop Sue shared with the collective body that the theme for Annual Conference 2024 would be called “A Conference in Three Movements.” The three movements will be: the movement of the Holy Spirit, our early Methodist movement, and movement outside the church’s walls.
She called the Virginia Annual Conference to renewal. “Let’s renew ourselves. We have a new chapter. We can foment a lot of change in our communities, communities that are aching,” Bishop Sue said.
She ended the gathering in prayer and words from the Apostle Paul to the church at Phillippi.
A livestream recording of the conference will be uploaded soon.