Greetings Mt. Vernon in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, 

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, Phi 1:9-10.  

God’s will for every believer is that we know Him in a personal, intimate way and that we are able to discern what is best. Discernment is the ability to evaluate a situation, or an action that has been taken. It means to sort through or separate out one thing from another, good from evil the Holy Spirit from demonic spirits, truth from misinformation. Discernment is a gift from God. It is not to be confused with faultfinding, which finds its roots in our feelings and opinions. God encourages us to seek His guidance as we sort through what is vague and unclear to grasp and understand, to approve of what is excellent.  

In the coming weeks Mt. Vernon UMC will engage in the process of discernment concerning disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church. Again, discernment is being led by the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s word as we sort through what is vague and unclear to understand and approve of what is excellent. The Bible is very clear about marriage and human sexuality. There is no need for discernment about what God has made very plain in His word. We just need to obey. We must, however, prayerfully discern what obedience will look like for Mt. Vernon as a faith community, moving forward. This is a very serious time in the life of the church and God will hold each of us accountable for the decision we make. In Revelation 20:12 the apostle John writes, And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also, another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. 

Be Richly Blessed! 

Pastor Deborah Giles