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As United Methodists prepare for the special General Conference on Feb. 23-26, they might learn from the experiences of other denominations that have dealt with their own splits. Photo illustration by Kathleen Barry, UMNS. — Photo illustration by Kathleen Barry, UMNS

Lessons from other denominational divides

United Methodist ecumenical partners Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians all have faced their own splits related to homosexuality and the Bible. Here is an overview of their experiences.

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Social Concerns

United Methodist deaconess Cindy Johnson (right) walks to buy medicine with Isabél who traveled with her daughter from Nicaragua to Matamoros, Mexico, hoping to request asylum in the U.S. Kassandra, 16 months, was suffering from fever and weight loss while she and her mother waited for their turn to approach the bridge leading to Brownsville, Texas. Johnson, who makes regular visits to the makeshift camp, brought members of the United Methodist Immigration Task Force for a firsthand look at the immigration situation. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

United Methodists respond to migrants at the border

The United Methodist Immigration Task Force saw United Methodists in action caring for migrants from around the world seeking asylum at border towns in Texas.

Local Church

The Rev. Jisun Kwak. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Kwak.

Church courts finds clergywoman not guilty

The decision culminates a two-and-half-year process that began with the Rev. Jisun Kwak’s suspension. She was found not guilty on all counts.

General Church

Washington Street United Methodist Church in Petersburg, Va., is back open after closing for two weeks in January as it searched for new insurance coverage. Washington Street was among the United Methodist churches that got higher premium notices just before Christmas from United Methodist Insurance, a subsidiary of the denomination's General Council on Finance and Administration. Photo courtesy of Washington Street United Methodist Church.

Premium hikes have churches scrambling

Churches and conferences are unhappy about higher premium notices from United Methodist Insurance that arrived just before Christmas.

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General Church

Karyn Wiseman. Photo courtesy of Karyn Wiseman.

LGBTQ United Methodists are hurting — and leaving

Mission and Ministry

Children maneuver trucks on one of the new play areas at Hanwa Mission School in Macheke, Zimbabwe. The playground and a state-of-the-art early childhood development center were built through a partnership between the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area and Volunteers in Mission from the Baltimore-Washington Conference. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UMNS.

Providing early education in rural Zimbabwe

Central Conferences

Women work in a rice field as part of a farming project in the Côte d’Ivoire Episcopal Area. The project is supported by UMCOR and encouraged by Bishop Benjamin Boni. Photo courtesy Yves Dirabou.

Church in Côte d’Ivoire focuses on farming, food security

Mission and Ministry

Asylum-seekers from Lebanon are greeted by Federica Brizi and Francesco Piobbichi of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (center) upon their arrival in Rome in August 2017. The group obtained legal visas through the Humanitarian Corridors program of the federation, the Synod of Waldensian and Methodist Churches and the Community of Sant’Egidio, run by Mediterranean Hope. Photo courtesy of Mediterranean Hope.

Small churches play big role for refugees in Italy

Central Conferences

Jean Tshomba (center) hands food and other supplies to an internally displaced person from Bijombo, Congo, in front of New Jerusalem United Methodist Church in Uvira. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UMNS.

Church helps internally displaced people in Congo

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General Church

The Reverend Chris Ritter. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS. — The Rev. Chris Ritter. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Seeing a Way Forward: The Rev. Chris Ritter

The Rev. Chris Ritter is a pastor in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference and a delegate to the 2019 special General Conference. He also helped write language that was eventually included in the Connectional Conference Plan. Ritter spoke with UM News as part of “Seeing a Way Forward,” a video series featuring different perspectives of church leaders on the work of the Commission on a Way Forward.

General Conference