The United Methodist Church (UMC) and the Global Methodist Church (GMC) are currently facing significant disputes over control of church properties in West Africa, prompting Liberian lawmakers to mediate between the two denominations.
Earlier this month, the Liberian Senate held an official hearing that brought representatives from both bodies together, overseen by the Joint Senate Committee on Internal Affairs, Judiciary, Claims, Human Rights & Petitions, and Defense, Security, Intelligence & Veteran Affairs, according to reports from The Liberian Investigator.
An additional hearing between the parties is anticipated soon, as noted by Sen. J. Gbleh-bo Brown of Maryland County, who serves as the acting chair of the Internal Affairs Committee.
At last year's UMC General Conference, delegates voted to remove several rules from the Book of Discipline, including the bans on same-sex marriage, the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, and funding for LGBT advocacy groups. They also eliminated a statement declaring that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
These changes led to the departure of approximately 7,500 mostly conservative congregations from the UMC over disagreements with progressive leadership on LGBT issues, many of which have since joined the GMC, which was established in 2022 as a conservative alternative.
In Liberia, same-sex marriage is not legally recognized, and the government enforces criminal penalties against homosexuality.
After the UMC approved the changes to its policies in June 2024, Liberian Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr. stated that his regional body would retain traditional standards regarding marriage and ordination.
Despite this, many within the Liberian Annual Conference have chosen to break away from the UMC and align with the GMC. This breakaway group is led by the Rev. Jerry Kulah, who claimed that Quire had previously agreed that the regional body could leave the UMC if the rules on LGBT issues were changed.
Earlier this month, Kulah and several supporters were arrested and temporarily jailed after confronting UMC members at a church building that GMC members assert rightfully belongs to them.
Due to the UMC's changes to the Book of Discipline, the Côte d'Ivoire Conference, which had approximately 1 million members and was one of the largest regional bodies in the denomination, voted last year to leave the UMC.
In the past few months, violence has erupted between UMC and GMC members in Nigeria due to a legal dispute over the ownership of properties and assets in the Nigerian Episcopal Area.
