Dallas Megachurch Highland Park UMC Weighs Leaving Denomination: Decision to Go to Congregational Vote as Lawsuit Continues
Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, is considering whether to leave the United Methodist Church (UMC). The church held a town hall meeting on October 11, attended by about 800 people, to discuss the question against the backdrop of an ongoing lawsuit with its annual conference, with church leaders saying any decision to leave would be put to a congregational vote.
According to The Christian Post's report on October 14, the lawsuit stems from changes to the church's governing documents. The UMC's Horizon Texas Conference sued the church in Dallas County District Court in August, alleging that a restated certificate of formation filed in November 2022 removed all references to the United Methodist Church, the conference and the UMC Book of Discipline from its governing documents, in what the suit describes as an apparent attempt to unilaterally sever ties with the denomination. Highland Park filed a response and counterclaim in September, arguing that the 2022 changes were valid under Texas law and asking the court to dismiss the suit; the church also said it has continued to participate fully in the UMC since the changes, including paying its annual apportionments to the conference.
At the October 11 town hall, church council chair Caroline Nowlin said the council has not decided whether the church should remain in the UMC, and stressed that if the council recommends severing ties, the decision would come to a congregational vote: "Your vote will determine our church's future." Council member David McAtee, who moderated the meeting, said the dispute comes down to two issues: the church's say in selecting its clergy, and whether the church has the right to leave the denomination if its membership votes to do so.
In a pastoral letter after the meeting, Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said his concern has always been about governance, never about Highland Park's faith, ministry or people, and that the conference is asking the church to restore the governance in place before 2022. In a statement issued before the town hall, Highland Park senior minister Matt Tuggle and two former senior ministers said the church's governance structure was ratified in 1998 with the conference's knowledge, and that the 2022 bylaws kept the church within the denomination at a time when more than 7,600 United Methodist churches left.
Founded in 1916, Highland Park United Methodist Church is the largest congregation in the Horizon Texas Conference. According to UMData, the UMC's official data platform, the church had about 15,000 professing members in 2024, average weekly worship attendance of more than 4,000, and total income of more than $22 million. The lawsuit remains pending, and the church has not yet decided whether to hold a vote on leaving the denomination.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于美国德克萨斯州 Dallas 的高地公园联合卫理公会教堂，1927年落成时的历史照片。图片来源：SMU Central University Libraries，无版权限制，经维基共享资源发布。Photo: Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, United States, in a historic photograph taken when the church building was completed in 1927. Source: SMU Central University Libraries, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.
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