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Congregations
United Methodist churches that sponsored Boy Scout troops are being advised to vote against a reorganization plan in the Boy Scouts of America’s sexual abuse-related bankruptcy proceedings. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
United Methodist churches that sponsored Boy Scout troops are being advised to vote against a reorganization plan in the Boy Scouts of America’s sexual abuse-related bankruptcy proceedings. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Churches advised to oppose BSA bankruptcy plan
A United Methodist legal team is still negotiating but says the current Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plan doesn’t adequately protect churches that sponsored Scouting troops and could be liable in sex-abuse claims.

Editor's Picks

Multicultural Ministry
Josephine Deere serves communion to participants in an immersion experience held by The United Methodist Church’s Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. A group of 40 people spent several days learning about Native American history and culture, as well as challenges facing indigenous communities. Photo by Tim Tanton, UM News.

Group gets immersion in Native history, concerns
Invisibility is a problem for indigenous communities today, and United Methodists from nine states resolved to help raise awareness and support Native American ministries.
Discipleship
Lisa Buffum and Steve Wilke stroll the campus at The Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College, a United Methodist institution in Winfield, Kansas. They work on BeADisciple, an online learning program for Christians that became more popular during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Sara Weinert.

COVID sparks interest in BeADisciple courses
BeADisciple, which offers online courses and certification in many ministry specialties, reports an increase in students and courses that coincided with the coronavirus pandemic
Annual Conferences
United Methodist News posts reports from annual conferences around the connection. World graphic by Josy Dom Alexis; image for Annual Conference Reports, United Methodist News, 2021.

2021 United Methodist annual conference reports
UM News posts the official summaries filed by annual conferences from around the connection. Find the latest reports on our archive page.

Latest

Theology and Education
Pastor Raphaël Makanga Mikuwa (center) stands with youth and leaders of the East Congo Conference at the Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda Center in Kindu, Congo. Mikuwa is the first student from the conference to graduate from Africa University in Zimbabwe. Photo by Judith Osongo, UM News.

AU theology graduate returns to serve in East Congo
Worship
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of the Spanish-language United Methodist hymnal, Mil Voces Para Celebrar, which introduced new texts, tunes and rhythms for worship. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Spanish-language hymnal turns 25
Social Concerns
The Rev. Paul Matheri (right), program director for Inua Partners in Hope and district superintendent in Naivasha, Kenya, issues a laptop to a graduate during a graduation ceremony in September. The vocational program provides orphans and vulnerable young people with hands-on job skills and startup kits or capital in their fields of specialty. Photo by Gad Maiga, UM News.

Kenyan orphans find hope in vocational education
Church Growth
Keith Wilson leads the Anointed Voices choir at Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta where Black Methodists for Church Renewal held a worship service during their meeting in 2019. BMCR is among partners in the Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century conference to be held Dec. 1-2 in Houston. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Inspiration, expertise for Black churches
Disaster Relief
Nyorovai Masvanhise (left) and Tendai Madzukwa survey damage at the United Methodist Mashambanhaka Primary School, some 80 miles northeast of Harare, Zimbabwe, after a storm peeled the roof off of several classrooms. Masvanhise is the school’s development chair and Madzukwa is senior teacher at the primary school. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Storms destroy two church institutions in Zimbabwe
Human Rights
We Are One Family: Personal Encournters with Racism is a series of commentaries of personal experience with racism and the intersection of faith and justice. Hands image by truthseeker08 courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

We Are God's Family: Personal Encounters with Racism
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Multimedia

Social Concerns
The Rev. Joel Hortiales (left) prays with Carlos Ivan Baran Hidalgo; his wife, Danelly Mazariegos Morales; and their 3-year-old daughter, Scarlett Juliette, at the Camino de Salvación shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. The family fled violence in Guatemala and is hoping to pursue a claim for asylum in the U.S. Hortiales is a United Methodist missionary and serves as director of Hispanic/Latino ministries and border concerns for the California-Pacific Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Joel Hortiales (left) prays with Carlos Ivan Baran Hidalgo; his wife, Danelly Mazariegos Morales; and their 3-year-old daughter, Scarlett Juliette, at the Camino de Salvación shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. The family fled violence in Guatemala and is hoping to pursue a claim for asylum in the U.S. Hortiales is a United Methodist missionary and serves as director of Hispanic/Latino ministries and border concerns for the California-Pacific Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Photo essay: ‘I was a stranger…’
In September, a UM News team accompanied faith leaders from the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Mexico on visits to migrant communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. See how the church is ministering to those in need through the eyes of photojournalist Mike DuBose.

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General Church
The Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, speaks about the pandemic and the proposed denominational split during an interview at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn. The church will host 2021 Leadership Institute on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 with a focus on helping pastors and laity address divisions in their communities. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Adam Hamilton: Leading in polarized times
From top left: Storm clouds swirl behind Pine Grove United Methodist Church in Bastian, Va.; Hillary Cooper, 11, gives the sermon at Tubman Memorial United Methodist Church in Monrovia, Liberia; Andy, a recovering addict, gets a smooch from guard dog at Brookside Farm rehabilitation program in Aurora, W.Va.; the Rev. Armando Rodriguez Jr. (left) prays with Dr. Dimas Hidalgo (center) and Nelcilone Broga onboard the John Wesley medical boat while docked in Murutinga, Brazil. All photos by Mike DuBose, UM News.

UM News World Photography Day
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Wayne Dickert guides a raft down the Nantahala River near Bryson City, N.C. A 1996 U.S. Olympic kayaker and pastor of Bryson City United Methodist Church, Dickert has conducted riverside services beside the Nantahala for the past 15 years. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ministry on the river celebrates 15 years
Mission and Ministry
The Old Rectory in Epworth, England was built in 1709 following the "Great Fire" and was the home of John and Charles Wesley along with their parents and siblings. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

Ask the UMC: Where is John Wesley's birthplace?
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Commentaries

Pastor Stephen Mannion. Photo courtesy of the author.

5 theses for The United Methodist Church
The Rev. Margret Powell. Photo courtesy of the author

Encountering racism but extending love
Dave Zellner. Photo courtesy of Wespath.

Why does Wespath care about sustainable investing?
The Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Photo courtesy of Wesley Theological Seminary.

Young elder numbers hit record low
The Rev. Taurai Emmanuel Maforo. Photo by Mutsa Roy Maforo.

Virtual church is the new ministry paradigm
Lynn Parsons. Photo courtesy of the author.

Abortion law should prompt action, not just outrage
The Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth. Photo by Krystal Baker.

Texas abortion law will save lives
Rick Reinhard. Photo by Valerie Smallwood.

A call to examine United Methodist real estate
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Ask The UMC

Theology and Education
A wreath with three lit candles marks the third week of Advent. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.
A wreath with three lit candles marks the third week of Advent. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: What do the candles in our Advent wreath mean?
The candles mark the weeks of Advent during a time of anticipation.

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Mission and Ministry
Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are focused on purchasing for oneself, Giving Tuesday emerged as a way to encourage generosity to benefit the lives of others. Photo illustration by Mike DuBose, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: Where and why should I donate on Giving Tuesday?
Local Church
Lay leader Ed Zinkiewicz leads the congregation of West Nashville (Tenn.) United Methodist Church in prayer. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: Who may hold office in a local church?
Mission and Ministry
The ordination of Bishop Francis Asbury performed by Bishop Thomas Coke in Baltimore, Md., at the Christmas Conference, the historic meeting establishing the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States in 1784. An engraving by A. Gilchrist Campbell from a painting by Thomas Coke Ruckle, 1882. Courtesy of the Drew University Methodist Collection (Madison, New Jersey) via Wikimedia Commons.

Ask The UMC: What influence did Francis Asbury have on the role of bishops?
Theology and Education
Eucharist is shared during the morning prayer held in the chapel of Sarum College during the 2016 Wesley Pilgrimage in England. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: Is communion simply a ritual of remembrance?
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Categories

Local Church
Nic Hamilton, a Cheyenne and Arapaho, performs an original song during a presentation for a group of United Methodist visitors at Sovereign Community School in Oklahoma City. The group of about 40 people were participating in an immersion into Native American culture and ministries sponsored by The United Methodist Church’s Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Photo by Tim Tanton, UM News.

Programs support, develop Native American youth
UM News is the official news gathering agency of the 13-million member United Methodist Church. Map courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by UM News.

Video of church incident goes viral, causes fallout
Steve Fleming visits with daycare students Malakhai (left) and Melody at Bethlehem Centers of Nashville (Tenn.) Fleming is the center’s chief executive officer. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Helping people ‘from womb to tomb’
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Evangelism
The Rev. Nathan Webb is pastor of Checkpoint Church, which was designed to be exclusively virtual. The church utilizes social media platforms Twitch, Discord and YouTube to build community. Screenshot courtesy of Checkpoint Church via YouTube.

‘Church for nerds’ builds community without a building
The Rev. Dariusz Zuber (right) conducts a service of baptism at God’s Love United Methodist Church in Ełk, Poland. The congregation has earned a reputation as an open and cooperative church. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Dariusz Zuber.

Partners help pastor revitalize struggling church
A solar-powered radio allows Tunui Metuni to listen to Trinity FM while tending his family’s livestock in Samburu County, Kenya. After the closure of schools in 2020 because of COVID-19, the church radio station began broadcasting school programs to children in a local language. Trinity United Methodist Church raised money in the community to donate 200 radio sets to vulnerable families. Photo by Faith Wanjiru, UM News.

Church hits airwaves to reach vulnerable communities
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Social Concerns
Families bathe and wash clothes in the Taia River, near Taiama, Sierra Leone. Churches are lobbying the government to limit water pollution caused by diamond and gold mining. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UM News.

Church joins fight against river pollution
The Rev. Stefan Schörk, who granted asylum to an Iranian man in his church in Pegnitz, Germany, in January, has been fined for “aiding and abetting unauthorized residence.” The United Methodist pastor said he is disappointed with the verdict but hopes it provides an opportunity for changes regarding church asylum in the state of Bavaria. Photo by Klaus U. Ruof, UM Communications Germany.

German pastor sentenced for providing asylum
At a virtual North Central Jurisdictional Conference this week, delegates elected by their respective annual conferences created and overwhelmingly approved a covenant naming their commitment to anti-racism work and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Graphic courtesy of the North Central Jurisdiction.

North Central Jurisdiction approves commitment to inclusion
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Mission and Ministry
Graduates of the Ron Wilmot Comprehensive Seminary Secondary School in Nigeria gather for a class photo. On Oct. 16, they became the first graduating senior class of the United Methodist-supported school, which is named after a late missionary from Iowa. Photo by Daniel Garba, UM News.

Big day for United Methodist school, guesthouse
A mural at the United Methodist Christ Ministry Center in San Diego illustrates part of the text of Matthew 25, the biblical basis of the center’s ministry among immigrants who have crossed the nearby border. Still frame from video by Joey Butler, UM News.

Haitian migrants bring vitality to declining church
A team from the United Methodist Committee on Relief, along with partner agencies, distributes water treatment supplies to people living in a makeshift camp in Gressier, Haiti, in 2010. The board of United Methodist Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief has earmarked $110,000 to provide disaster relief in Haiti. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Global Ministries, UMCOR approve $10M in grants
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General Church
The Book of Discipline contains the rules that guide The United Methodist Church. The Judicial Council — the denomination’s top court — faces multiple questions related to a new Disciplinary provision that allows congregations to disaffiliate with property under certain conditions. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Judicial Council to review church-exit rules
At a Nov. 18 online meeting, the Commission on the General Conference and staff pressed forward with planning for the postponed legislative assembly. After the coronavirus has twice altered their plans, commission members expect to make a final decision in the first quarter of next year on whether General Conference can take place as scheduled Aug. 29-Sept. 6 in Minneapolis. UM News screenshot via Zoom.

Setting criteria for a 2022 General Conference
Nordic-Baltic Area Bishop Christian Alsted preaches during the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. The Connectional Table chair gave the opening devotion during the leadership body’s online meeting Nov. 17. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Connectional Table aims to restructure
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