FORT DAVIS –– The Fort Davis United Methodist Church will not be voting on whether to leave the United Methodist Church (UMC) any time soon, according to Don Holladay, who is serving as temporary pastor of the congregation for the next few months.
“The attempt to exit the denomination has become more difficult, if not impossible, to carry out,” Holladay said. In July, concerns over official church policies on LGBTQ issues had spurred some First United Methodist Church of Fort Davis members to plan a vote on whether to separate from the United Methodist Church (UMC). Initially the church council posted a newspaper ad in the Fort Davis Mountain Dispatch announcing an August 11 vote but then backtracked and decided to allow the UMC El Paso District superintendent to shepherd the process. Since that time, it’s become clear that a vote isn’t happening, Holladay said.
The congregation — which numbers about 50 people — worships in a historic church in downtown Fort Davis. Holladay said division in church membership about a split continues, and it still is possible the church could vote to disband from the UMC in the future. The congregation would have to then buy the church and form a new nondenominational body or affiliate with the Global Methodist Church, which thousands of churches that have disaffiliated with the UMC over LGTBQ issues have joined — a process that would need a vote of approval at the next UMC General Conference, which won’t be held until 2028, Holladay said.
The UMC’s formal process for disaffiliation ended in December of 2023. The UMC district superintendent for the congregation, Pam Rowley, did not return a call requesting comment.
