At the special called conference of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church (held only online), a 17-minute video of Bishop Ken Carter was played to set the tenor of the separation. His tone was mostly warm and pastoral, but near the end he turned paternal and controlling, instructing churches leaving on how they were and were not to act after separation. I haven’t seen anything like this yet and thought it worthy of note. What will happen if churches refuse to obey his commands? What if churches or pastors insist on publicly speaking about what they have experienced to be dysfunction, or even abuse?

Also, where do things stand in Western North Carolina? Did any churches get voted down? What does the future look like?

Links:

Bishop Carter’s Full Address (or at least the version I found) - https://vimeo.com/881210107?fbclid=IwAR02jimNpNODzK_oiJMOHtcj33iG8daCVimR6esB2qaRqndbmPHRt3cbPPk

Report on Disaffiliation by Western North Carolina Conference - https://www.wnccumc.org/november-results?fbclid=IwAR2YIHKEJr3Z4PbGJrqW2lCkUecTcyJ6W9ru4R4ch68SissKw-HUz_0S6_A

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