SMU's bid to split from United Methodist Church over LGBTQ+ rights heads to Texas Supreme Court

[TexasTowelie]

A multi-year fight over whether Southern Methodist University can separate itself from the United Methodist Church is heading to Texas’ highest court this month.

The Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit between the 12,000-student private university in Dallas and the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church on Jan. 15.

In 2019, SMU leadership changed its articles of incorporation and declared that its board of trustees was the “ultimate authority” over the university, not the United Methodist Church. The university's articles of incorporation detail how the university is governed and by whom.

The university’s decision to update the documents and assert the board’s sole control over the school came during a tumultuous time in the Methodist church’s history. In 2019, members endorsed a ban on LGBTQ+ clergy and prohibited pastors from performing same-sex unions. It sparked a massive clash within the church, prompting thousands of conservative churches who were tired of the fight to disaffiliate and start their own more conservative church, now called the Globalist Methodist Church.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/02/texas-supreme-court-smu-united-methodist-church/

[Haggard Celine]

1. Globalist?

That's an Alex Jones word.

[surfered]

2. Yes, MAGA is supposed to hate globalist elites

[carpetbagger]

9. Once it can't be understood as Jews, loses the bad for them.

I recently explained to someone how local American Episcopal churches were moving to African dioceses to avoid gay marriages, weird stuff.

[BigMin28]

3. Hmm

I wonder what the price of those 133 acres of church property are woth today? SMU is not in Dallas. It is University Park. A measurable difference.

[yellowdogintexas]

7. Churches which did not leave the UMC before Dec 31 would have to surrender their property to the

local Annual Conference. (that date may be off; possibly mid 2024)

I guess because SMU is not a church, they wouldn't have to do that.

My UMC did not leave in fact we did not even have a congregational vote. The Board of Stewards and the pastoral staff had their ears to the ground so to speak and felt confident the congregation would approve.

It may be that SMU was already wanting to loosen their ties to the UMC and the whole thing got caught up in the mess.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. eleventy billion I would assume . That is a prime section of greater Dallas nt

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

4. Freedom to bigot? There's no love like Christian Hate.

[keithbvadu2]

5. Religious self-control to be decided by a secular court.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. This will be a fun fight to watch