The United Methodist Church

Charlton is a family of faith that is proud to be part of The United Methodist Church. We do our best to live up to our denomination’s motto of “Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.”, as we believe it is a worthy challenge for any church to achieve.

We believe the beauty of our church, and our denomination, can be found in our diversity. Charlton’s Identity Statement, adopted in 2015, explains this in the following way:
 

Like all of God’s creation, we are a diverse community.  We are just like you.  We are people of faith and people who are questioning. We are people from many faith traditions. We are men and women, young and old.  We are single, married, divorced, separated and partnered. We are conservative and progressive, red and blue and every shade in between.  But in spite of our differences, we respect and support one another.  For we are a people UNITED by our love for God and a desire to worship, study, serve and fellowship with one another. 

Although we live in a time of turmoil and division in our country, our culture, and our denomination, we value our diversity of thought, as this is part of our Wesleyan tradition. John Wesley preached, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.” And like St. Augustine, John Wesley was also known to have used the adage “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity,”

For over 50 years, the United Methodist Church has lived in the tension of being a body of Christ-followers committed to working and serving together in spite of our differences. And we look forward to the next 50 years of serving God side-by-side with one another, even when we may not be of one mind.

Charlton Church will continue to be a family of faith that truly cares for one another, for our neighbors, and for persons around the world, as we are called to be the heart and hands of God in the world today, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world … and we will continue to do this as part of The United Methodist Church.

Charlton Church continues to value the diversity of thought that is an intrinsic part of The United Methodist Church. While we recognize that some of our brothers and sisters are choosing to leave The United Methodist Church, we do not see that as the right path for our Charlton congregation. 

And for this, we are #ProudToBeUMC