The Human Rights Department of the Liberia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church (LAC/UMC), has ended a day-long seminar. The seminar, according to a release, was focused on the legal implications of the Book of Discipline, regionalization, the definition of marriage, and misinformation and disinformation. The event, held at the David T. Tewh Conference Room at the Central Office on 12th Street, Monrovia, brought together clergy and lay members of the church for dialogue, education, and clarity on some of the most pressing issues facing the denomination.
According to the release, the seminar provided participants with a balanced understanding of the 2020–2024 General Conference decisions and their implications for both the Church and the country. Reverend J. Joel Gould, Administrative Assistant to Bishop Samuel J. Quire, Jr., reminded participants that the LAC, has nothing to fear from the decisions of the General Conference. “There may still be confusion, but the more we educate and share the truth, the more clarity will come. This seminar is part of that effort. Our goal is to strengthen both clergy and members so that misinformation does not weaken our witness as a church,” Rev. Gould said. The Director of the LAC/UMC Human Rights Department, Brother Jefferson Knight, expressed concern over the deliberate misinformation being circulated by individuals and breakaway groups. “Since last year, there have been several actions against our nation-building church. People who broke away have demonized regionalization, saying that it allows man to marry man and woman to marry woman. That is a lie,” Knight firmly stated. Knight, said regionalization is about empowering United Methodists in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines to shape policies that reflect their own cultural, and theological contexts, while still remaining part of the global UMC connection. “Regionalization is not about redefining marriage. It is about contextualizing ministry so that decisions affecting Africa are made with African voices at the table,” he noted. Knight: “The Social Principles of the UMC – Marriage and Its Effects on Liberian Laws.” In his lecture, he clarified that the UMC globally continues to affirm marriage as the union between one man and one woman.
“The fear being spread by some is baseless. The UMC in Liberia has not changed its definition of marriage, and nothing in the regionalization framework forces us to do so,” he explained. Knight reminded participants that Liberia is a sovereign nation with its own laws on marriage, and the UMC aligns with both Scripture and national law. He said misinformation linking regionalization to same-sex marriage is a ‘tactic to discredit the church unity.’ On “the Legal Implications of the Book of Discipline,” Knight explained that the UMC is both a spiritual and legal institution, governed by its Book of Discipline, which outlines doctrine, polity, and church law.
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