Wisconsin congregations forge ahead after historic fractures in the United Methodist Church

When fractures in the United Methodist Church began bursting to the surface, anguish also emerged in the heart of The Rev. Krysta Deede.

As Methodist churches across the country debated blessing same-sex marriages and ordaining LGBTQ+ clergy, Deede realized her congregation in Wisconsin opposed the inclusion of people in the queer community. 

“That was a very painful process to experience with them,” she said.

Wisconsin is home to nearly 400 member congregations of the United Methodist Church. In December, the church completed a five-year period where congregations could leave — or “disaffiliate” — in the wake of renewed divisions over LGBTQ+ policies. 

In 2019, a global conference of the United Methodist Church voted to uphold bans against blessing same-sex marriages and ordaining LGBTQ+ clergy. But many American church leaders opposed enforcing those policies. 

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership estimates about a quarter of the church’s congregations ultimately disaffiliated, marking the largest denominational schism since the Civil War. 

Some congregations left because they felt the church was not strict enough in enforcing the bans, and joined a newly formed Global Methodist Church, which said it would enforce the bans. Other congregations stayed with hopes of removing the bans from church policies. 

United Methodist Church leaders allowed congregations to leave by the end of 2023 and maintain some benefits, such as keeping property while paying certain costs. More than 7,000 congregations received permission to disaffiliate.

Deede recently moved on to lead a Methodist church in Onalaska. She said the congregation supports churchgoers being themselves in contrast with her previous post.

This spring, Deede and other clergy across the state will represent Wisconsin at a global conference of the United Methodist Church where fractures over LGBTQ+ policies might surface again. Deede plans to advocate for more inclusivity.

“There’s a lot of reconciliation happening with people who are realizing that we really are inclusive, supportive and excited for the gifts and graces that they bring to our congregational life,” she said.

‘We’re not much of a United Methodist Church anymore’

In Wisconsin, more than 40 congregations left, including a Boscobel-based group of congregations led by The Rev. Stan Pegram, whose father was also a United Methodist Church pastor.

Pegram said the voting among his congregation to leave felt like grieving. But the southwestern Wisconsin community had lost trust in the United Methodist Church over its handling of policy divides.

“We cared for each other. We respected each other for the most part,” he said of the church’s broad membership. “We’re not much of a United Methodist Church anymore.”

Pegram said his congregation’s exit was probably years in the making. Pegram had expected disagreements within the United Methodist Church, a large table with many theological viewpoints.

But when Pegram heard the church would permit civil disobedience against its policies, that marked the final straw. He said accountability had disappeared.

“That was the tipping point for us to say, ‘Listen, if we can’t govern ourselves, none of us really want to be part of an organization like that,’” Pegram said.

Disaffiliation required 17 steps full of tough conversations, he said. His group of congregations changed its name from BMZ Church to Back Roads Church. The group also joined the Global Methodist Church.

“I think we are better together when we can partner with other churches and continue to reach into different communities,” Pegram said. “The Global Methodist Church was putting into place what I thought I agreed to when I became part of the United Methodist Church.”

Disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church required meeting financial obligations like covering debts and pensions. Pegram said the transition was incredibly challenging and the costs were prohibitive to other congregations interested in separating.

Asked about the upcoming conference of the United Methodist Church and whether Pegram would consider returning with policy changes, he closed the door.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

Pastors prepare for upcoming conference

Pegram, Deede and The Rev. Cathy Weigand discussed the United Methodist Church’s recent fractures during interviews with WPR’s “The Morning Show.”

Weigand served two different congregations while the church allowed disaffiliation. In both Oshkosh and Madison, the congregations stayed in the church and made clear that members wanted to be open and affirming to LGBTQ+ people.

“There was never really a question about what direction they would go,” she said. “They want change in the United Methodist Church.”

Weigand hopes policies that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people are removed during the church’s next conference. She said the church could go beyond “significant and often irreparable harm to the queer community” and become fully inclusive.

“We’re deeply committed to loving God and loving all of our neighbors and offering grace and hope, wherever and however we can, and to do that work as congregations together in our communities with the hope of having impact for people who have been marginalized, oppressed, left out and discriminated against,” Weigand said.

When Deede attends the upcoming conference of the United Methodist Church with other Wisconsin clergy, her goal is to solidify the church’s social principles and remove harmful language from church policies. She said language that professes to value every person is contradicted in existing policy by other language about the LGBTQ+ community.

Deede and Weingand hold leadership roles in the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church. They are members of the conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry, which supports clergy in the state. On its website, the board states that sexual orientation and gender identity are not sufficient reasons to deny someone the position of minister.

“Discrimination interferes with our ability to respond fairly to all whom God calls to ministry,” the statement says. “While the board makes every effort to reach consensus, if we cannot, members may vote their conscience.”