195 Wilmington Island Road, Savannah, GA 31410
Office 912-897-2835 Fax 912-897-2864
Church Office Hours M-F 9AM-5PM
WIUMC Discernment Timeline (most recent at the top)
January 8, 2023 The members of Wilmington Island UMC voted by an 87% majority to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. Click here for the report to the congregation.
January 5, 2023 Vote reminder to members 2nd email
December 28, 2022 Vote reminder to members 1st email
December 12, 2022 Letter regarding vote mailed to members
Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, Church Council voted unanimously to request the District Superintendent to hold a called church conference for the purpose of voting on disaffiliation from the UMC. Congregation was notified by email, church bulletin, and an announcement in worship on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. See document below for document distributed to the congregation.
October 23, Rev. Baxter Hurley, senior pastor of Forest Hills Church in Macon and former associate pastor at WIUMC, gave a presentation to the church members explaining Forest Hills’ path through the disaffiliation process. Forest Hills disaffiliated in August.
October 15, 2022, eleven church members traveled to Epworth by the Sea for the Isaiah 43 Conference to learn more about the disaffiliation process as well as the Global Methodist Church.
October 12, 2022 An informal meeting with DS David Thompson was held. Rev. Thompson explained the disaffiliation process and answered questions from the congregation.
August 2022, Church Council notified District Superintendent Rev. David Thompson that Wilmington Island UMC is considering disaffiliation.
July 17 and July 27, 2022, WIUMC held Town Hall meetings to share with the congregation information regarding disaffiliation. Information from both sides of the issue was shared with the members.
Spring 2022 Discernment team created.
Information distributed to the congregation October 2022
Additional Resources
Rev. Rob Renfroe, retired associate pastor at The Woodlands UMC in Woodlands, TX, and President and Publisher of Good News, has created a series of six videos (approximately 15 minutes each) detailing the reasons Traditionalists are leaving the denomination. The videos can be found by clicking the link below.