The Trust Clause

One of the most important and at times contentious dimension of Wesleyan Church statutory law surrounds the “Trust Clause” (paragraph 4610 in The Discipline). As Dr. Gorveatte indicated in the video overview to the module, its origins go back to John Wesley himself, where he was largely funding the construction of meeting places for societies and wanted to ensure that they did not go astray. During the merger in 1968, significant numbers of churches left the Wesleyan Methodist and Pilgrim churches with little or no consequence.

The purpose of the Trust Clause is both to provide accountability for a local church that might be tempted to “go rogue” as well as to ensure the kind of interconnectedness that is supposed to be the very nature of the church as revealed in the New Testament. At the same time, many Wesleyans have watched with great concern as the United Methodist Church used political maneuvers to prevent local churches from leaving the denomination over its insistence on the ordination of practicing gay ministers.

In a post of 300 words or so, take a position on the question of whether the Trust Clause is a beneficial or problematic feature of Wesleyan Church polity. Should it have certain conditions attached to it, as some recent Memorials to General Conference have attempted unsuccessfully.

After making your initial post, please read through the responses of your classmates and make at least three follow-up comments on a different day than your original post. These responses should contribute meaningfully to the discussion, whether by asking insightful questions, providing additional examples or perspectives, or challenging ideas respectfully. Each follow-up comment should be at least 100 words. This discussion is worth 50 points.