CHARLOTTE/DESOTO COUNTIES – 106 Florida churches are suing the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church over a property dispute and theological differences over LGBTQ issues.
According to the Herald Tribune, the plaintiffs say the church leadership imposed a hefty exit payment as a condition of leaving the broader United Methodist Church.
The lawsuit says Resident Bishop Kenneth Carter of the Florida Conference violated the Book of Discipline by non-enforcement against an openly lesbian bishop and a progressive reverend in Saint Pete.
The Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church says it wishes to serve all people so quote “we can support, bless and love one another.”
Some of the 106 churches are here on the Suncoast, including Port Charlotte United Methodist Church, and Trinity United Methodist Church of Charlotte Harbor and Arcadia.