Some intolerant members of our church really pissed off the pastor

[AverageOldGuy]

10. In my rural Virginia county . . .

. . . there are ten small (and getting smaller) United Methodist churches.

At the urging of a Super MAGAt asshole in one of the churches, five have disaffiliated with the United Methodist Church. All five have painted out the "United" on the signs in front of their churches and are proud of it.

All five have seen their congregations shrink while the rest of us have picked up their members.

Pre-COVID our pastor gave us a detailed briefing on what was going on the the greater UMC and what our choices would be -- stick with the UMC and welcome everyone, go with the "conservatives," or form our own congregation. We all shrugged, thanked her, and went off to our volunteer jobs at the food bank, homeless shelter, and mental health crisis hotline.