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General Church
The California-Nevada Annual Conference service of commissioning and ordination included six LGBTQ elders, deacons and local pastors. Front row, from left are: The Revs. Emily Pickens-Jones and Caiti Hamilton. Back row, from left are: The Revs. Tara Limbaugh, Rob Herrmann, Jacey Pickens-Jones and Kenneth Schoon. Photo by The Rev. Israel I. Alvaran.

California-Nevada has 6 new LGBTQ clergy
2019 California-Nevada Annual conference ordained, commissioned or licensed 13 clergy.

Editor's Picks

General Church
The Rev. Heecheon Jeon, superintendent of the Central District of the Iowa Conference. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Conference.

Clergyman apologizes for filing complaint
The Rev. Heecheon Jeon has apologized for filing a complaint against the Rev. Anna Blaedel after she stated during an annual conference session that she was a “self-avowed practicing homosexual.”
Annual Conferences
United Methodist conference reports. Find out what’s happening across the connection. Read official filings of annual and central conference meetings from around the world. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News; globe by Mediengestalter courtesy of Pixabay.

United Methodist conference reports
Find out what’s happening across the connection. Read official filings of annual conference meetings from around the world.
General Church
Bishop Kenneth W. Hicks, who led conferences in Arkansas and Kansas, is remembered for his good humor and passion for peace. Photo courtesy of the Council of Bishops.

Bishop Hicks, striver for peace, dies at 96
The bishop, who led conferences in Arkansas and Kansas, was known for his kindness and wry humor.

Latest

Social Concerns
The faithful sing religious songs outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong as they protest a proposed extradition bill with China. One hymn in particular, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” has become an unofficial anthem, says Ben Ho, a Methodist from Hong Kong. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Christian hymn unites Hong Kong protesters
Social Concerns
From left, the Rev. Glofie Baluntong, a United Methodist district superintendent, and the Revs. Wilfredo Yasay, Resty Herrera and Corazon Florece stand in front of the mission center at Dangay 3000 United Methodist Church in Roxas, Philippines. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Glofie Baluntong.

Police question United Methodists about sanctuary guests
General Church
A video shown at the recent North Carolina Conference features male clergy reading some of the sexist comments that the conference’s female pastors have endured. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

New video calls out harassment of clergywomen
Mission and Ministry
Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda washes his hands during the Kivu Annual Conference in Goma, Congo. Unda invited conference speakers to observe five minutes of prayer for those affected by the region's Ebola outbreak, which began last August. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolanga, UM News.

Church in Congo walks alongside Ebola survivors
Violence
Yakuba Barka has been at an internally displaced persons camp in Jalingo, Nigeria, for four years. He and his family fled their home in Chibok when the area was attacked by the Boko Haram terrorist group. Barka and his family journeyed for two years before making their way to the camp. Photo by Tim Tanton, UM News.

Church provides aid to Nigerians displaced by violence
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Multimedia

Global Health
Kate Rhodes (left) leads students from House of the Carpenter back from a field trip on Wheeling Island in Wheeling, W.Va. Rhodes was serving as youth coordinator for the program's Pre-Work Camp, which teaches basic employment skills to middle school students. House of the Carpenter is a mission project of The United Methodist Church's West Virginia Conference.
Foto Mike DuBose, Noticias MU

Ministries help children affected by addiction
Children in addicted households are in danger of falling into the same cycle without support. One devoted mentor can make a world of difference.

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Evangelism
Wayne Worth (right) embraces Roger outside his home in Fisher, W.Va. Worth, a member of United Methodist Temple in Clarksburg, was passing out flyers containing information about local resources for anyone struggling with addiction, when he met Roger.

Outreach ministry for addiction is simple, effective
Disaster Relief
Isabel João (right) and Maria Lidia António salvage what they can of their corn crop, which was killed before it matured when their field was flooded by Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. “Hunger is the number one problem now,” Joao said. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

After the cyclone, faith abides
Global Health
The Rev. Paula Napier lost her 32-year-old son, Lincoln Nutter, to a drug overdose in June 2018. Napier, who pastors Canaan United Methodist Church in Charleston, W.Va., says she lives in the midst of the opioid crisis. “I think people need to know it hits everybody,” she said.

Pastors cope with sons’ overdose deaths
Global Health
Andy, a recovering addict, gets a smooch from guard dog Tundra while feeding chickens at Brookside Farm, part of the Jacob's Ladder rehabilitation program in Aurora, W.Va.

Churches walk with addicts on recovery journey
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Commentaries

The Rev. Stephen Mannion. Photo courtesy of Rev. Mannion.

The Book of Discipline unites us as a church
The Rev. In-Sook Hwang. Photo courtesy of Rev. Hwang.

Achieving inclusion: Break barriers, build bridges
The Rev. Kathleen LaCamera. Photo by Chris Loughlin.

Son's vote for peace set his father's killers free
The Rev. Christopher Momany. Photo by Hollie Smith, Adrian College

Live tomorrow's life today
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Ask The UMC

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.
Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications

Ask The UMC: Is communion simply a ritual of remembrance?
Holy Communion recalls the last supper Jesus had with his disciples. But it is more than just a ritual of remembering. It is primarily an act by which God feeds us, sustains us, and empowers us to live as Christians in the world.

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Theology and Education
The Christian year includes the central seasons of Christmas and Easter followed by Ordinary Time. The colors associated with the different seasons express visually what is happening in the life of the church. Each color symbolizes the nature of the festival being celebrated. Graphic by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: What is Ordinary Time?
Theology and Education
John Wesley portrait from the U.S. Library of Congress, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (altered from original)

Ask The UMC: Are we saved if accepting God's grace happens gradually and not in one specific moment?
Theology and Education
Public domain image from the National Child Labor Committee collection by Lewis Wickes-Hine, courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress.

Ask The UMC: Why do we have Social Principles? Where did they come from?
General Conference
Members of the 2016-2020 Judicial Council. (From left) Front row: Deanell Reece Tacha, N. Oswald Tweh Sr., the Rev. Luan-Vu Tran. Back row: Lydia Romão Gulele, Ruben T. Reyes, the Rev. Øyvind Helliesen, the Rev. Dennis Blackwell, and the Rev. J. Kabamba Kiboko. (Not pictured, Beth Capen) Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications

Ask The UMC: What did the Judicial Council decide about the Traditional Plan?
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Categories

Local Church
Abuja Area 1 United Methodist Church in Abuja, Nigeria, was started 10 years ago and is still under construction. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News.

Nigerian church faces fine, possible demolition
The Rev. Schubert Ogden, a longtime professor at Perkins School of Theology, died June 6 in Louisville, Colorado, near Boulder and Denver. He was 91. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Theologian Ogden pushed himself and his students
Sen. Richard Lugar (right) and University of Indianapolis president Robert Manuel announce the planned launch of the United Methodist-related school’s Richard G. Lugar Academy. Lugar, a long-time member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, died April 28, 2019. File photo courtesy of the University of Indianapolis.

Faith laid foundation for Lugar's public service
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Evangelism
Members of the Sierra Leone Conference prison ministry serve a meal to a detainee at Kingtom Remand Home, a facility for juvenile offenders, in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Photo by Saidu Samura, Sierra Leone Correctional Services.

Prison ministry delivers gifts, hope
Young people sing during the Next Generation Forum in Monrovia, Liberia. The May 2 event focused on the future of young people in the church. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News.

Liberia pushes to recruit young people into ministry
Students practice traditional dance and music at Ngundu Primary School in Buhera, Zimbabwe. The once-ailing school now has new classrooms and teacher quarters built through the Chabadza Community Development Program, a partnership between The United Methodist Church in Norway and Zimbabwe. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UMNS.

Chabadza partnership revives ailing school
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Social Concerns
During the 35th session of the Desert Southwest Conference, the Rev. Joshua L. Warner, third from left, was ordained as a deacon. Warner is a gay man. The ordination and commission service included commissioning of Jamie Lynn Booth and Timothy Robert Hunsinger for the work of an elder. Photo courtesy of the Desert Southwest Conference.

Gay deacon ordained in Desert Southwest
Girls outnumber boys at The United Methodist Church’s Arnoldine Mission in Zimbabwe, but that’s not the case at the mission’s primary and secondary schools. School officials say the numbers of girls enrolled in school is worrisome. By Kudzai Chingwe.

Mission’s schools see drop in girls’ enrollment
A woman who fled armed conflict in Misisi, Congo, receives a bag of rice from The United Methodist Church in Lweba. The church, using a grant from United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, has provided food relief to about 100 of those displaced. Photo by Jolie Shabani, UM News.

Church helps those displaced by violence
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Mission and Ministry
Finda Quiwa (third from left), a United Methodist missionary, joins members of Finda Quiwa House at the May 2 Young Women's Gathering in Yonibana, Sierra Leone. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UM News.

Young women's program revived in Sierra Leone
Claudine Migisha (right) receives congratulations from Wehnam Dabale, upon her graduation from Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Migisha, from Goma, Congo, was part of the United Methodist-related school's 25th graduating class. Dabale is the university's international student advisor. Photo courtesy of Africa University.

526 Africa University graduates in 2019 class
Shiku Kajalukapushes carries relief items received from the Malawi United Methodist Church on his bicycle. With him are his wife and baby. Photo by Francis Nkhoma, UM News.

Relief distribution in Malawi
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General Church
Delegates Jorge Lockward and the Rev. Beth Ann Cook embrace during the closing moments of the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. The two had previously spoken on opposite sides in a debate over possible church exit plans. U.S. conferences are calculating how much a church must pay if it leaves under legislation General Conference approved. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Exiting congregations face hefty price tag
The Rev. John Pena Auta (foreground), provost of Banyan Theological Seminary, works on a computer in the new communications center in Jalingo, Nigeria. Seated next to him is Dan Krause, top staff executive of United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn. In the background are Tafadzwa Mudambanuki (left) from United Methodist Communications and Bishop John Wesley Yohanna of the Nigeria Episcopal Area. Photo by Danny Mai, United Methodist Communications.

New communication center aids learning in Nigeria
The Rev Alan Masimba Gurupira, administrative assistant to Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa, sits next to South Congo Bishop Owan Kasap at a farewell dinner at Bouche Camp in Lubumbashi, Congo. A delegation of 12 lay and clergy members from the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area traveled to South Congo to exchange ministry ideas and strategies for church growth. Photo by Chenayi Kumuterera, UM News.

Episcopal areas unite to grow church in Africa
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