Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., bishop of the North Texas Conference, during a special called session at the United Methodist Church in Plano on Saturday, Mar. 4, 2023.
Lola Gomez/Staff Photographer
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., who leads the Horizon Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, addressed Highland Park United Methodist Church’s congregation in a video message Wednesday, saying the conference and the congregation are not adversaries as the legal dispute with the church proceeds.
The conference sued Highland Park UMC earlier this month, alleging the church tried to quietly cut ties with the denomination about four years ago when it made changes to its governing documents. The relationship between Highland Park UMC’s leadership and the conference has become increasingly strained in recent weeks as the two sides have offered differing accounts of what happened.
In his video message, Saenz said he has grieved over what has unfolded in recent weeks. The video comes on the same day Highland Park UMC is hosting a private town hall for its congregants to discuss the situation.
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“I’m not making this video as your adversary,” he said.
Highland Park UMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the message.
In 2022, public records with the Texas Secretary of State show Highland Park UMC removed references to the United Methodist Church, the conference and the Book of Discipline, the UMC’s governing text, in its articles of incorporation. It changed its official name to Highland Park Methodist Church and kept its “doing business as” name Highland Park United Methodist Church.
The conference filed copies of the church’s bylaws in court records last week, which show similar amendments.
Saenz said the changes shifted “significant authority” to the church’s council and changed how decisions about the church would be made. Saenz said he didn’t take the decision to pursue legal action lightly.
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“None of us owns Highland Park United Methodist Church,” Saenz said. “Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Not the bishop, not the senior pastor, not the church council.”
The conference has said these changes were made without the knowledge of the congregation or conference, which it said is out of line with the denomination’s procedures. The conference has said it was prompted to file the lawsuit after finding out about the changes in the fall of last year and Highland Park UMC refused to reverse course.
In his message, Saenz said the governing documents matter because it’s an issue of accountability and transparency.
“It requires safeguards that protect the voice of the congregation when decisions of great consequence are being made about the future of the church,” Saenz said.
Contentious statements offer different accounts
Last week, the church council of Highland Park UMC approved a resolution that challenged the bishop’s authority. It accused the conference of ecclesiastical wrongdoing and threatening its clergy.
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In the UMC, a church council oversees the administration of a local church.
The council said the conference’s actions have raised questions about its “ecclesiastical and denominational ties” and that for the time being, it no longer recognizes the authority of the bishop.
“In the interim of discussions with the congregation on how best to respond to these events, the Church through its Council no longer recognizes ecclesiastical authority of the bishop and conference to direct the Church or its Clergy,” the resolution said.
In response to the resolution, the Horizon Texas Conference said a church council cannot decide for an entire congregation or its clergy that the local church will no longer recognize the authority of the UMC, nor can the church council unilaterally restructure a local church to operate out of the denomination.
The church has acknowledged it changed its corporate documents but has denied the accusations of misconduct.
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The church has said it worked with the conference on its corporate document changes in 2022. The conference maintains it was not notified.
Church leadership has said it was completely blindsided by the lawsuit. Saenz said he understands why the congregation may have felt blindsided. But he emphasized that Highland Park’s senior leadership knew of the “conference’s serious concerns” for nine months.
“Those were not months spent planning a lawsuit,” Saenz said. “They were spent working to avoid one.”
The conference has said it met with Highland Park UMC leadership in October, December and March.
“In the March meeting, the church council made it clear that the governance documents would not be restored,” Saenz said.
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Highland Park UMC’s church council also alleged the conference told its clergy their pensions and health care plans could change because of the revisions made to the church’s governing documents.
Saenz pushed back against this statement, saying he does not intend to allow pastors to lose what they have earned “because of governance decisions they did not make.”
His goal is the restoration of the church’s old governing documents, Saenz said. He also said the congregation deserves transparency about why the changes were made.
“You should not have to choose between loving Highland Park United Methodist Church and being United Methodist,” Saenz said. “Those are not opposing loyalties.”