Highland Park United Methodist Church congregants have voted to separate from the church’s denomination following a two-day churchwide voting process, according to a statement from the church council.
The church council shared in a statement that of 4,775 votes cast, 90.35% voted “Yes” to the following question: “Shall Highland Park Methodist Church, doing business as Highland Park United Methodist Church, sever all of its ties, affiliations, and connections to The United Methodist Church?” HPUMC has been a congregation of the United Methodist Church or its predecessors for 110 years.
The vote came after the Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church filed a lawsuit against the church in August over its governing documents.
The church council had called for a congregational vote on whether or not the church should separate from the denomination earlier this month and had recommended a “yes” vote.
“In the coming weeks, we will begin working to operationalize the changes required by this separation, with a goal to have that work completed by December 1, 2026,” the church council shared in a statement after the vote. “This was not an easy decision, and we know it has not been made lightly. For many of us, it is a painful, difficult, and emotional decision. For others, the decision was straightforward. Regardless of your perspective, we want to assure you that our Church will continue to operate as it has, and we will continue to be who we are. We will remain united by our identity and mission in Christ, rather than divided by our differences.”
Following the vote, HPUMC shared in a statement that the congregation will begin worshipping as Highland Park Methodist Church Sunday, Nov. 1.
“We thank you for all the time, thought, and prayer you have put into this voting process. We recognize that faithful people have approached this decision with different perspectives, and we honor the point of view and vote of every member,” the church council statement continued. “We know there are questions about what happens next. Our Church leadership is working thoughtfully and diligently through the steps ahead and will continue to communicate regularly. But today, we also want to look forward. Our greatest opportunity is not simply in the decision we have made, but in what we will continue to build together. We are eager to turn our full attention to the mission and ministries that make our Church such a special place and to the opportunities God has placed before us.”
Following the vote, though, the Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church said in a statement that “a congregational vote does not, by itself, sever a local church’s relationship with the United Methodist Church.”
“The Horizon Texas Conference remains committed to the congregation and ministry of Highland Park United Methodist Church and to the shared covenant that connects us as United Methodists. We understand that this is a deeply personal and emotional time for many members of the congregation, and we continue to hold all who call Highland Park their church home in our prayers,” the statement read. “While individuals are free to make their own decisions about their religious affiliation, a congregational vote does not, by itself, sever a local church’s relationship with The United Methodist Church. The Conference has a responsibility to uphold the covenant we share and continues to ask that Highland Park’s governing documents be restored in accordance with United Methodist governance. That has been our request from the beginning.”
The lawsuit filed by the Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, a regional governing body which covers North Texas, stems from changes the 100-plus-year-old church’s leadership made to its governing documents in 2022 and 2023.
Among the changes specifically at issue is HPUMC’s changing its corporate name filed with the Office of the Secretary of State from “Highland Park United Methodist Church” to “Highland Park Methodist Church” in 2022.
The lawsuit further alleges that HPUMC also adopted amended bylaws that year, which “i) remove all references to The United Methodist Church, the Conference, and the Discipline; ii) remove the rights of HP Church members to participate in any matter ‘affecting or involving the Church’; and iii) remove the members’ right to participate in determining the denomination of HP Church, including selection of the Church Council.”
HPUMC has said in a statement on its website that the church changed its corporate documents in accordance with guidance in 2020 from Texas courts “on managing church affairs under neutral principles of Texas law,” and that HPUMC worked with the conference on the corporate name change. HPUMC further stated that the church’s Charge Conference voted unanimously to delegate governance to the Church Council in 1998.
Ahead of the vote, in a webinar on Oct. 24, Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. of the Horizon Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church said, “I believe there is a faithful path forward, and it begins with honoring the covenant we have made together and restoring the governing documents.”
“I, through my role, have a responsibility to uphold our covenant, to protect the connection that binds us together and to help ensure that our churches honor the commitments that they have made and that generations and our ancestors before them have also made. The Discipline holds bishops and clergy accountable for upholding the covenant we share. And that responsibility is simply not optional. After our last meeting in spring, when it became apparent that Highland Park leadership would not agree to change the governing documents back, I had to act,” he said. “My hope is that Highland Park will continue to be a place where people encounter Christ, where families find a home, and where its ministries will continue to flourish.”
Conference officials explained during the webinar that a temporary framework for disaffiliating from the denomination was sunset in 2023, following a series of disaffiliations amid a schism around issues such as the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy and the performance of same-sex marriages.
In a video featuring HPUMC Senior Minister Matt Tuggle and former Senior Ministers Paul Rasmussen and Mark Craig shared ahead of the vote, Rasmussen said, “we’re confident in our legal position, including our history of property ownership, such as the 1926 deed conveying our sanctuary to us from SMU.”
