Members of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church gather in Athens on Saturday, Nov. 18, to vote on the disaffiliation requests of 265 UMC churches. (North Georgia Conference photo)

(Athens)- Fifty-seven area churches will leave the United Methodist Church at the end of this month. They’re among 265 congregations in North Georgia and metro Atlanta that voted to disaffiliate from the denomination largely due to a split over LGBTQ issues.

Members of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church ratified the disaffiliation requests of 261 of those churches on Saturday during a special called session at the Classic Center in Athens.

The disaffiliations become effective on Nov. 30. After that, the departing churches may no longer use the “United Methodist” name nor the denomination’s logo. They will have 30 days to fulfill their financial obligations to the UMC, including purchasing church property if their congregation chooses to keep it. And they’re prohibited from pursuing further litigation against the conference. Hundreds of congregations in Georgia and across the country sued for the right to have their disaffiliation requests heard.

The church disaffiliations in North Georgia come after 193 congregations once belonging to the UMC South Georgia Conference left the denomination in May, also due to the ongoing debate over LGBTQ issues.

In White County, the churches on the disaffiliation list are Cleveland UMC, Loudsville UMC, Cleveland, Macedonia UMC, Cleveland, Mt Pleasant UMC, and  Nacoochee UMC.

North East District Disaffiliation List:
Banks, Dawson, Habersham, Hall, Habersham, Hart, Forsyth, Franklin, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White Counties
Antioch UMC Clayton
Arbor Pointe UMC Hoschton
Bethel UMC Dawson County
Bethesda UMC Hartwell
Bold Spring UMC Carnesville
Clarkesville UMC
Clemons Chapel UMC Gainesville
Cleveland UMC
Colbert UMC
Commerce First UMC
Confidence UMC Stephens County
Confidence UMC Union County
Cool Springs UMC Clarkesville
Creekside UMC Cumming
Dahlonega UMC
Ebenezer UMC Cumming
Ebenezer UMC Hollywood
Ebenezer UMC Jefferson
Gordon’s Chapel UMC Athens
Hartwell First UMC
Hickory Flat UMC Lula
Holly Springs UMC Jackson County
Homer UMC
Jones Chapel UMC Danielsville
Lebanon UMC Gillsville
Liberty Hill UMC Hartwell
Loudsville UMC Cleveland
Lula UMC
Macedonia UMC Cleveland
Macedonia UMC Hart County
McKee’s Chapel UMC Dawsonville
Midway UMC Gillsville
Mountain City UMC
Mt Bethel UMC Commerce
Mt Pleasant UMC White County
Mt Zion UMC Alto
Nacoochee UMC
New Hope UMC Dillard
New Salem UMC
Pennington Chapel UMC
Piedmont UMC
Providence UMC Hart County
Providence UMC Stephens County
Providence UMC Union County
Redstone UMC
Redwine UMC Hart County
Redwine UMC Gainesville
St James UMC Toccoa
St Paul UMC Lumpkin County
Sunshine UMC
The Highlands UMC
The Vine UMC
Tiger UMC
Toccoa First UMC
Union Hill UMC Hiawassee
Vanna UMC
Wesley Chapel UMC Dahlonega

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