A Cobb Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that nearly 200 congregations in the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference can proceed with disaffiliation votes.
The ruling by Judge Stephen Shuster came after an emergency hearing in a packed courtroom.
A total of 186 member churches of the North Georgia Conference filed a lawsuit in March against the denomination’s regional body after it initiated a “pause” on the disaffiliation process.
More than 70 North Georgia Conference churches left the UMC last summer after going through the disaffiliation process, following a high-profile legal dispute with Mt. Bethel Church that led to the East Cobb congregation’s departure in a $13.1 million settlement.
(You can read the lawsuit here.)
The North Georgia Conference said the pause was needed to quell “misinformation” about the disaffiliation process.
The United Methodist Church has been roiling in division for several years on a number of social and cultural issues, including human sexuality and other theological issues.
The plaintiffs filed for the emergency hearing due to the North Georgia Conference’s upcoming annual convention, June 1-3, at which disaffiliation is expected to be a major topic.
The conference has 800 congregations, including several in East Cobb.
One of the plaintiffs, Mountain View UMC, located at Jamerson Road and Trickum Road, had requested a disaffiliation vote after holding a discernment period last fall, with church members hearing the pros and cons of leaving the denomination.
But the church said that vote was denied by Bishop Robin Dease, who succeeded former Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, who issued the pause before leaving in December for another UMC post in Virginia.
East Cobb News has left a message with Mountain View UMC seeking comment.
The North Georgia Conference said Wednesday that it “is exploring our opportunity to appeal” and was still waiting to receive Shuster’s full court order before deciding further action.
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