Monrovia – Retired bishop of the United Methodist Church, Arthur F. Kulah, says the split in the Methodist church must be done with in order for the church to forge ahead.
Report by Mae Azango – [email protected]
“There is no human institution where there is no conflict. In fact, as we say in Liberia, teeth and tongue can fight, so there is no human made institution where there is no conflict or disagreement,” he said.
“Because even husbands and wife can fight and make up. We are not the only ones, having disagreement.
When you check in the Catholic, Lutheran and Baptist churches, they also have division. So yes, we have had our share of challenges. Even in the early churches, there were challenges over many issues, but we have always solved those problems.”
The split in the church is said to come about from the formation of a group called ‘Concern United Methodist Church’ but many believe Bishop Kula is the man to reunite the church, thanks to his techniques used in solving conflicts in Nigeria and Sierra-Leone in years gone by.
In an exclusive interview at the Church Office in Sinkor, Bishop Kula further explained that the “The Concern United Methodist” group did not come about during the tenure of Bishop Innis but the disagreement started as far back in 1983.
“During our third Episcopacy in 1983, when we were voting to be a part of the United Methodist Church worldwide, or be by ourselves, so it was when the problem started.”
“I purposely recuse myself, because I did not want to be accused of taking sides and during the time of the discussion of the matter, the elders appointed one Frankton Mills, of the US to be the acting Bishop, while I went home to rest,” said Bishop Kula.
“When the elections were held, 2/3rd of the congregation agreed that we be a part of the rest of the United Methodist Churches around the world to have our own bishops who will retire voluntarily or mandatorily.
Then the group who did not win said what was done, was not correct because they wanted to be on their own and by themselves, so they said they are called “Concern Methodist,’ so this is how the group concern came about.”
Bishop Kula added that a delegation was sent to meet with the group in Bong and when they were asked to come together as a church, they refused and continue to linger on.
He said Bishop Innis gave them a chance to be heard repeatedly in order to find a way forward but the group became splinter and many members crossed over to the church.
Quizzed why the church cannot take the group to court, he said the church’s rules does not allow its members to be taken to court but that matters of disputes should be resolved as Christians.
“The bible says we should forgive our brothers seventy times seven when they wrong us, so we have forgiven them and we will keep talking.”
The retired Bishop remains optimistic e can reunite the church.
“I will definitely bring our people back together because I am like a father to the “Concern Methodist,” many of their fathers and I worked together in the church and as their fathers had great respect for me, so do they also have that respect for me.so this is why I still have some appreciable level among those people.”
It is believed that some of the reasons for which the Concern Methodists left, is that they accused Bishop Innis of forming a group called – “The Bassa Ministers Association”, to support him as Innis is of the Bassa ethnic stock.
But Bishop Kula refuted such, saying the Bassa Ministers Association was around long before Innis became Bishop.
Bishop John G. Innis Turned over to Bishop Kula
After serving the Liberia Annual Conference (LAC) of the United Methodist Church for 16 years, Bishop John G. Innis, according to the Methodist book of Discipline, voluntarily retired at 68 years of age on August 31, 2016.
Bishop Innis, who had not celebrated his 68th birthday at the end of August, turned over the gavel of authority and all church properties over to Bishop Arthur F. Kula as Interim Bishop at the S. Trowen United Methodist Church in Sinkor Monrovia, until a new Bishop is elected and consecrated in December 2016.
“In the Methodist church, we have two types of retirement, mandatory and voluntary retirement, and the age for retirement is sixty eight.”
“When Innis was elected and concentrated, he said he wanted to voluntarily retire, because our Methodist book of Discipline states that any Bishop who reaches 68 years or near his 68th birthday by august 31st, should retire, so Bishop Innis fell in that category and retired, but nobody push him out, or forced him to resign.”
Bishop Kula further narrated that when the bishop retires, the council of bishop takes over and find a Bishop to act until a new Bishop is elected and consecrated.
And the person to act has to be a retired Bishop and not a pastor or clergyman. A new bishop will be elected in Ivory Coast on December 19, 2016 or he will probably stay until the end of December 2016.