By H Matthew Turry
The United Methodist Church in Liberia is said to be in crisis over the failure of the Liberia Annual Conference to make a definite position following the latest decision of the global annual conference of the United Methodist Church to legalize same-sex marriage across its denomination.
Recently, the global United Methodist Church repealed its 50-year ban on LGBTQ clergy, and approved new language opening doors for same-sex marriages.
Speaking at a news conference in Monrovia over the weekend, Mr. L. Olandor Boyce, Secretary of the Liberia Annual Conference Delegation to the 2020/2024 UMC General Conference Held in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, from 23 April to 3 May 2024, accused the Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, Samuel Quire of refusing to call for a special annual conference session to take a decision regarding the future of the UMC in Liberia in the wake of the General Conference passage to legalize homosexuality and other “unchristian acts”.
“Prior to the Liberian Delegation going to the recent General Conference, the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church held its 191st annual session which we came up with the decision that upon the return of our delegation from the General Conference, the Liberia Annual Conference would hold a special annual session for two purposes,” he said.
The two purposes include to receive a report from the delegation to the General Conference, and to consider the Way Forward Commission report; and to take a decision regarding the future of the UMC in Liberia in the wake of the General Conference passage to legalize homosexuality and “other unchristian acts”.
But the Secretary General said since their return from the General Conference in early May of this year, Bishop Samuel Quire has refused to call the special session. Instead, on May 9, 2024, barely 5 days after the end of GC, he sent out a video message to all United Methodists in Liberia to support the “Regionalization Plan” of the worldwide denomination without providing a forum where members of the church would discuss the concept behind the “Regionalization Plan” before calling upon them to support it.
According to Olandor Boyce, the global denomination wholeheartedly endorsed the practice of same-sex marriage and homosexuality across all of its churches worldwide, and the need to provide a definite position as with the Liberia Annual Conference cannot be overly stated.
“Secondly, Bishop Quire claims that he does not support same-sex marriage, but insist that the UMC in Liberia must endorse the decision of the general conference to legalize same-sex marriage, the ordination of LGBTQ people as pastors and leaders within the worldwide denomination, and the new definition of marriage as a union between two consenting adults and two person of faith, in addition to marriage being between a man and a woman,” Boyce said.
He noted that the leaders in the UMC have called on the Bishop and his Cabinet to call the special session so that the church can decide its own future, and not the bishop deciding for them, but the bishop has refused.
He explained further: “The Conference made a decision at its 191st session to hold a special session upon its delegation’s return from the General Conference. Therefore, the holding of the special session, which the Bishop and his Cabinet ratified for 16-17 July cannot anymore be discretionary.
“The Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), where Bishop Quire serves as First Vice President, based on request from the majority clergy and lay leadership of the UMC, has intervened and encouraged the bishop to listen to the church and call the special session, but Bishop Quire has refused. Other national stakeholders within the Christian community in Liberia have encouraged the bishop to listen to the people he leads and call the special session, but Bishop Quire remains uncooperative.”
Boyce revealed that Bishop Quire has taken several illegal administrative actions including suspensions of critical voices that have opposed the global conference decision
He added by saying that “Bishop Quire’s act of continued violation of the church’s constitution of illegal suspension of elected conference officials who prevailed and pressed on him to call a Special Session to discuss the decision of GC and disagree with his Regionalization Plan is worrisome”.
According to him, those suspended are; Dr. George Wilson, Chairman of the Board of Ordained Ministry, Dr. James Labala, Conference Secretary of the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
“Other members of the Board, Rev Alex Harmon, Rev. Isaac C. Padmore, Rev. James Z. Labala, Rev. Rose Fahart, amongst others; and replacing them with some pastors and members who agrees with his plans to regionalize sin and license people to hell, in spite of their questionable characters and qualifications.”
“Our Bishop has disallowed the Graduate School of the United Methodist University (UMU) from using the United Methodist Radio Station (ELUM 98.7FM) to promote its program and teach discipleship, because the Head of Delegation of the Liberia Annual Conference of the UMC currently heads the UMU Graduate School,” he stressed.
According to him, Bishop Quire is not listening to the elders of the church who have vehemently opposed sex-sex activities across the Methodist denomination – a situation he stated; has plunged the United Methodist Church into crisis.
Giving the role of the United Methodist Church Bishop, Olandor Boyce said, “According to our Book of Discipline (constitution), Bishop Quire is not a member of our Annual Conference, and a Bishop of the United Methodist Church has basically three cardinal functions.
“Bishop Quire, therefore, has no right to decide the future of our church. His functions are, to preside when we gather as an Annual Conference, to perform ordination of clergy persons, and to oversee the implementation of decisions made by the Annual Conference among others”, he said.
All efforts to contact Bishop Samuel Quire to comment on these allegations proved futile up to press time.