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Members of the Boys Brigade brass band of The United Methodist Church in Nigeria welcome Bishop Ande Emmanuel (center with purple stole) and Taraba State Governor Kefas Agbu (right) at a Feb. 22 thanksgiving service at Jatutu Memorial Cathedral in Jalingo, Nigeria. The United Methodist sanctuary was closed by the government at the height of internal conflicts in the denomination in 2016. The United Methodist Church in Nigeria is celebrating a March 30 high court ruling that declares the church’s deregistration by a breakaway group in 2024 “null and void.” Photo courtesy of UMCN Communications.

Court victory for United Methodists in Nigeria

The country’s high court has ruled in favor of The United Methodist Church in Nigeria, declaring the church’s deregistration by a breakaway group in 2024 “null and void.”

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General Church

The final webinar in a series discussing The United Methodist Church’s new vision statement examines the Wesleyan understanding of ecclesiology and the call to “lead courageously.” Graphic courtesy of United Methodist Communications.

How does the church lead courageously?

In a webinar, United Methodist leaders explored how the church can create space for churchgoers to bravely go wherever the Holy Spirit leads.

Theology and Education

The South Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church and Southern Methodist University in Dallas have reached a settlement in a long-running lawsuit filed after the university’s board moved to alter its relationship with the denomination. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons.

Church, SMU resolve legal dispute

A United Methodist jurisdictional conference and Southern Methodist University have reached a settlement in a long-running lawsuit filed after the university’s board moved to alter its relationship with the denomination.

Social Concerns

United Methodists are joining with other Christians in Palm Sunday actions across the United States that aim to counter rising authoritarianism with Christ’s call to love our neighbors. Organizers emphasize that the original Palm Sunday, as described in the Gospels, was a political event. Palm leaf image by studio2013, courtesy of Pixabay; illustration by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Across US, churches plan Palm Sunday protests

United Methodists are among the Christians helping to organize rallies and processions in at least 13 states that are intended to counter rising authoritarianism and greed with Jesus’ call to feed the hungry, care for the sick and welcome the stranger.

Latest News

Social Concerns

Faith leaders carry a banner lifting up Jesus’ call for social justice in Matthew 25 during a Palm Sunday Witness in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

United Methodists march on Palm Sunday

The Rev. Moses Kumar, top executive of the United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration, speaks on April 24, 2024, at the United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Kumar is retiring at the end of March after more than 17 years as head of the denomination’s finance agency. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Kumar looks back on helming finance agency

Two important moments in Raquel Martínez’s ministerial life: at right, the launch of the “Mil Voces Para Celebrar” hymnal in 1996, and at left, the celebration of its 25th anniversary in 2021. Photos courtesy of the Martínez family; photo composition by the Rev. Gustavo Vásquez, UM News.

Raquel Martínez embodies legacy of immigrant women on worship

Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park, Pa., serves fried fish sandwiches on Feb. 27 during one of the church’s annual Lenten fish fries. The profit the church receives from selling thousands of $16 dinners goes toward feeding local unhoused people and supporting the fast-growing congregation. Photo by Jenn Morgan.

United Methodists hooked on fish fries too

(From left) Naoutane Ndecky, Senegal District women’s president, Abraham Basse, district lay president, and Eric Ané raise their hands in prayer during the dedication service at Temple Beth Shalom United Methodist Church in Diamniadio, Senegal. The ceremony marked the official inauguration of the new modern building, the result of a collective effort to provide United Methodists in the community with their own place of worship after 18 years of renting. Photo courtesy of the Senegal District.

Celebrating a new church building in Senegal

Disaster Relief

Richard Mushitu, the Tanganyika Episcopal Area’s Disaster Management coordinator, helps distribute bags of flour during an emergency humanitarian aid distribution organized by The United Methodist Church. The project, funded by the United Methodist Committee on Relief and local resources, provided food and essential non-food items to 700 people affected by devastating floods and forced displacement in the Nyunzu and Kalemie territories of Congo. Photo courtesy of the Disaster Management Office of the Tanganyika Episcopal Region.

Church brings aid, hope to Tanganyika

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Amber stained-glass windows illuminate the Bible that sits on the altar of Glendale United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Starting with Good Friday and into the Easter season, United Methodists and other Christians have new recommended Bible readings for worship. Photo by Steven Adair, United Methodist Communications.

Stopping anti-Judaism in lessons about Jesus

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Photo by Hannah Fleming-Hlll, courtesy of Unsplash.; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News

Social media graphics from UM News

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Social Concerns

Christians from many faith denominations join a Palm Sunday march through the streets of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on March 29, 2026. The rally was one of about 30 events across 16 states. Image from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

United Methodists put faith into action on Palm Sunday

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Mission and Ministry

A protester holds a sign seeking an end to racial segregation in the Methodist Church during the 1968 General Conference in Dallas. The conference merged the denomination with the Evangelical United Brethren Church, creating The United Methodist Church, and did away with the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction. A new book by the Rev. Bonnie McCubbin details the long road for Black Methodists to get full equality in the denomination. Photo courtesy of United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.

Mapping the Black United Methodist pilgrimage

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The five U.S. jurisdictions, which each consist of multiple annual conferences, first came into being in 1939. While regionalization leaves the current jurisdictions in place, a group of United Methodist leaders are looking at proposing changes to the denomination’s constitution to allow each regional conference, including the U.S., to decide whether to have jurisdictions. Map from The United Methodist Church Handbook 2025-2028 courtesy of ResourceUMC.

Church leaders explore future of jurisdictions

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Commentaries

What comes next after ‘Faithful Resistance’ march?

Winter guard meets Wesleyan warmth

The Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera. Photo by Brian McConkey Photography, courtesy of the Rev. Dr. Viera.

Church must do messy work of restoring community

A clean page for a critical time

Celebrate Black History Month by listening to historic voices

The Rev. Christopher P. Momany. Photo by Kristen Schell.

In troubling times, look to ‘higher law’

The Rev. Dr. Jefferson M. Furtado. Photo courtesy of the author.

Martin Luther King Jr. and the work we haven’t finished

A plea for ‘costly solidarity’ in Middle East

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Multimedia

Social Concerns

Christians from many faith denominations join a Palm Sunday march through the streets of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on March 29, 2026. The rally was one of about 30 events across 16 states. Image from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

United Methodists put faith into action on Palm Sunday

Christians in 16 states began Holy Week by following in the footsteps of Jesus and standing up to injustice.

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Social Concerns

Recipients of sun-powered ovens learn to adapt local recipes to the new cooking method. This photo was taken during a United Methodist Solar Oven Partners workshop for new oven owners in Bo, Sierra Leone, in December 2025. Photo courtesy of Solar Oven Partners.

Solar oven ministry changes lives

Photo by Hannah Fleming-Hlll, courtesy of Unsplash.; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News

Social media graphics from UM News

Social Concerns

Filipino United Methodists in the Davao Episcopal Area participated in a four-day United Methodist Board of Global Ministries EarthKeepers training on climate change and environmental conservation. Image from video by Touch Barrientos, Kyla Ragasa, DEA Communications, and Matthan Bang-Asan.

EarthKeepers promote creation care in the Philippines

Screen shot from video by UM News

When fear knocks, the church answers