Highland Park Methodist Vote Deepens a Major U.S. Denominational Dispute

Members of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas voted overwhelmingly on October 25 and 26 to sever ties with The United Methodist Church, according to reporting published by The Christian Century on October 29, 2026. Of 4,775 ballots cast, 90.35 percent supported the resolution. The turnout represented about one-third of the congregation's approximately 15,000 members. Church leaders told members that the congregation would begin worshiping as Highland Park Methodist Church and would work toward completing operational changes by December 1. The vote followed an October 15 action by the church council, which unanimously recommended separation and authorized the congregation-wide decision. Yet the ballot does not end the dispute. The Horizon Texas Conference says that a congregational vote, by itself, does not remove a local church from the denomination or settle obligations created by United Methodist governance. The conference filed suit more than two months before the vote over changes the church made to its bylaws in 2022, alleging that those revisions improperly removed denominational and congregational oversight. An amended filing added a breach-of-contract claim and asked the court to prevent further violations of governing documents. A non-jury trial is scheduled for October 12, 2027. Highland Park leaders deny that their earlier bylaws changes were a covert attempt to leave and express confidence that church property will continue serving the congregation's mission. The conference, meanwhile, says it remains committed to the congregation and to the shared covenant connecting United Methodists. Those competing claims make the story more than a decisive local vote: it is now a test of how civil courts, denominational rules, local corporate documents and a congregation's stated religious choice interact.

The national significance of the Highland Park vote comes from the United Methodist trust clause, a longstanding rule stating that local church property is held in trust for the benefit of the denomination. United Methodist policy previously offered a temporary pathway through which congregations could disaffiliate while retaining property if they met specified conditions, including a two-thirds congregational majority. That provision expired and was removed from the Book of Discipline by the 2024 General Conference. Highland Park's leaders therefore are not simply following the same process used by thousands of congregations during the earlier disaffiliation period. The conference argues that the current dispute must be resolved through church law and the pending civil case; church leaders emphasize the congregation's vote and its desire to protect its ministry and future. Pastors and church boards across traditions can learn from the conflict without assuming that one congregation's facts apply everywhere. Governing documents should be read before a crisis, not after it. Local bylaws, denominational constitutions, deeds, trust language and state nonprofit law can create overlapping duties. Leaders should also communicate honestly about what a vote can and cannot accomplish, protect space for members who disagree, and distinguish ecclesiastical questions from legal ones. Highland Park began on the Southern Methodist University campus 110 years ago and has become one of the largest and most visible Methodist congregations in the country. Its next steps will be watched closely because they may influence how other congregations, conferences and courts understand connectional accountability after the denomination's temporary disaffiliation framework. The pastoral challenge is equally important: whatever the final legal outcome, church leaders must shepherd people through grief, disagreement and institutional change while keeping the congregation's public witness centered on Christ rather than on victory over other Christians.