A group of 36 United Methodist churches in North Carolina that had sued, demanding to sever their ties to the denomination, have agreed to leave using a plan approved by church leaders in 2019, the Western North Carolina Conference announced.
The group, which includes some of the biggest churches in the conference, will formally exit the denomination at a special session of the conference, or regional geographic body, on Nov. 4.
United Methodists across the country are mired in a messy divorce over theological differences, mostly regarding ordination and marriage of LGBTQ Christians.
