More than three years after The United Methodist Church announced it would split over long-standing disagreements regarding LGBTQ inclusion, three Chicago-area churches are preparing to finalize their disaffiliation by the end of this month.

Faith Evangelical United Methodist Church in Elmhurst, First United Methodist Church Plano and La Luz de Cristo United Methodist Church in Elgin will join thousands of congregations nationwide splitting from the denomination following decades of rising tensions between progressive congregations that flouted church bylaws banning same-sex marriage and clergy and their traditionalist counterparts.

In addition to the three suburban churches, five other churches in northern Illinois were also approved for disaffiliation by the conference at its annual session June 6, said the Rev. Victoria Rebeck, director of communications for the Northern Illinois Conference of The United Methodist Church.

The split came out of the denomination’s 2019 General Conference in response to a decadeslong conflict over the role and status of LGBTQ people in the denomination. At this time, the UMC Book of Discipline, which contains the denomination’s policies and procedures, prohibited the ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals” and disallows clergy from conducting marriages of same-sex couples. Churches are also prohibited from hosting such marriages.

[ United Methodist churches that oppose gay marriage and clergy will break away, form new religious group: ‘We came to an impasse that can’t be bridged’ ]

While that may seem to many a conservative position, Rebeck said that prohibition may not be conservative enough for some United Methodist church communities.

“There are places in the United Methodist Church where church (regional bodies) have ordained gay folks and where pastors have conducted marriages and blessed civil unions,” Rebeck said. “I can’t speak for conservative churches that want to leave. My sense is that at least among some of them they’re frustrated that these laws are not being enforced in a consistent way.”

The 2019 separation plan called for the creation of a “traditionalist Methodist denomination” that will be separate from the United Methodist Church. The new denomination would continue to practice the ban on same-sex marriage and clergy, while the United Methodist Church will explore expanding its laws to allow for more inclusion.

In the past, clergy have faced discipline for performing same-sex marriages or identifying as LGBTQ, but many churches have disregarded the laws for years.

Outside of the eight in northern Illinois, an additional 31 churches statewide have disaffiliated in the last two years, according to Paul Black, director of communications of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, which represents United Methodist congregations in Downstate Illinois.

The Illinois Great Rivers Conference has scheduled a special session on Dec. 2, which could result in more churches aiming to disaffiliate before the end of the year, Black said. The provision for disaffiliation expires Dec. 31 and is not expected to be renewed or extended.

Jane Ahrens, chair of the Faith Evangelical Church Council in Elmhurst, declined to comment on specific causes for the anticipated split.

In an email to Pioneer Press, Ahrens said church officials expect to provide a news release after the disaffiliation becomes official at the end of the month.

“Disaffiliation is a legal process with the Northern Illinois Conference,” Ahrens said in her email. “We are still involved in this process and will not be able to make a statement until after July 1, 2023.”

The Rev. Joseph Johnson, the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Elmhurst, emphasized he was not associated with Faith Evangelical and could not comment on their reasons. But he noted that the prohibition against gays goes back to 1972.

“There are many of us in the (United Methodist) Church who feel this (prohibition) is not a fair representation of the Scriptures or our traditions as United Methodists and have been advocating for change,” Johnson said.

“(Some churches) are wanting to maintain the prohibition and, as I understand it, do not want to be with those of us who want a more open interpretation of Scripture and of our traditions.”

Johnson acknowledged the prospect of loosening United Methodist rules on some issues of human sexuality concerns more conservative Methodists. For his part, Johnson said, “I’d like to see the church live in more ambiguity.”

The United Methodist Church churches in Plano and Elgin did not immediately respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment.

Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.