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Evangelism
Bishop Antoine Tambwe Kalema (center) poses for a photo with the 11 district superintendents from the Eastern Congo Conference who received new motorcycles as a gift from the bishop during the 2026 annual conference. Many of the church leaders had spent years traveling on foot or by bicycle to minister to their communities. Behind them is the Mgr. Gabriel Unda Yemba Multipurpose Hall at the Mama Lynn Center in Kindu, Congo. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.
Bishop Antoine Tambwe Kalema (center) poses for a photo with the 11 district superintendents from the Eastern Congo Conference who received new motorcycles as a gift from the bishop during the 2026 annual conference. Many of the church leaders had spent years traveling on foot or by bicycle to minister to their communities. Behind them is the Mgr. Gabriel Unda Yemba Multipurpose Hall at the Mama Lynn Center in Kindu, Congo. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

Bishop purchases motorcycles for pastors in Congo
Bishop Antoine Tambwe Kalema presented 11 motorcycles to United Methodist district superintendents in Maniema to reduce travel time and make caring for their communities easier.

Editor's Picks

General Church
The Rev. Matt Tuggle, senior minister of Highland Park United Methodist Church, speaks to the congregation Aug. 16 about a civil lawsuit filed by the Horizon Texas Conference against the church. Tuggle said the church was blindsided by the lawsuit, which challenges changes made to Highland Park’s legal documents. Screen shot courtesy of Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Highland Park pastors, conference address suit
Highland Park United Methodist Church’s current senior minister and his predecessor are speaking out about the lawsuit filed by the Horizon Texas Conference. Meanwhile, the conference added more information to its suit about the issues under dispute.
Faith Stories
The Rev. James T. Laney speaks during the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula in Atlanta in 2018. Laney, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea and lifelong advocate for peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, died Aug. 13. He was 98. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Remembering James T. Laney, a lifelong friend to Korea
From a young soldier in postwar Korea to U.S. ambassador during a nuclear crisis, the Rev. James T. Laney devoted much of his life to the Korean people and the pursuit of peace. Laney died Aug. 13 at age 98.
Annual Conferences
Annual Conference Reports

2026 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 News

General Agencies
The board of The United Methodist Church’s finance agency on Aug. 21 heard a midyear review on the state of denominational finances. The news was generally positive. Photo illustration by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

Church giving shows signs of stability
Evangelism
The Rev. Cosmas Chafanza (third from left) greets members after church service at Magamba Circuit’s new sanctuary in Rusape, Zimbabwe. The circuit is seeing growth through its evangelism and outreach efforts. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Zimbabwe circuit offers model for evangelism, growth
Social Concerns
In this 2024 file photo, a visiting delegation of church activists from the United States prays for Setrag Balian (center), a leader of the youth-led struggle to save the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The delegation came to the Middle East to accompany threatened Christians and other Palestinians and call for a ceasefire in Gaza. A similar U.S. interfaith delegation traveling to Israel and Palestine to meet with Christians in the Holy Land was turned away at the Israel border on Aug. 13. The group included four United Methodists. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, Life on Earth Pictures.

United Methodists denied entry to Israel
General Church
The Rev. Matt Tuggle, senior minister of Highland Park United Methodist Church, speaks to the congregation Aug. 16 about a civil lawsuit filed by the Horizon Texas Conference against the church. Highland Park’s church council approved a resolution Aug. 20, declaring it no longer recognizes the authority of its bishop and conference to direct the congregation or its clergy. Screen shot courtesy of Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Highland Park leaders escalate response to lawsuit
Faith Stories
Sisters Daniele (left) and Danica Bell take part in the potato dance, where pairs of dancers with hands held behind their backs hold a potato between their foreheads and try to dance to the beat of a drum without letting the potato fall. The dance, part of the Native Moccasins Rock gathering in Bon Aqua, Tenn., was sponsored by Native American Ministries of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Celebrating 25 years of Native dance, art and friendship
Mission and Ministry

Living the vision
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Local Church
The Rev. Adam Hamilton has led Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, for 36 years. Hamilton is currently running for the U.S. Senate. Photo courtesy of hamiltonforkansas.com.

Hamilton honored for connectional leadership
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Evangelism
Participants toss beach balls around in a time of fellowship during the SCD 2026 — RISE UP: Love, Serve, Lead conference, held Aug. 2-5 at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio. Discipleship Ministries’ biennial event help equip clergy and lay leaders to plant, revitalize and innovate local churches. Photo by Scott Hughes, Discipleship Ministries.

Church called to ‘rise up’ amid loneliness, AI
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Social Concerns
The Rev. Emily Kvalheim speaks on May 30 outside the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio, during a protest to draw attention to people being detained because of their immigration status. Kvalheim is a deacon in the West Ohio Conference and a member of the Task Force on United Methodist Immigration Ministries of Ohio. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Emily Kvalheim.

Deacons take God’s work beyond the church
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Mission and Ministry
Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel (right center) prays for graduates of The United Methodist Church’s Technical Training Program during a July 1 ceremony in Jalingo, Nigeria, marking the program’s revival after a two-decade hiatus. Seventy-eight trainees graduated the vocational program with skills in electrical installation and welding fabrication. Photo by Joseph Dauda Idris, UM News.

Church relaunches technical training in Nigeria
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General Church
Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference delegates have unanimously supported a plan to unify the North Georgia and South Georgia annual conferences into one. The newly united Georgia Conference will begin operations in January 2027. Maps courtesy of the South Georgia Conference, adapted by UM News.

Georgia unification gains final approval
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Commentaries

Dr. Brett McKinley Pardue. Photo courtesy of the author.

When screens become a theological question
The Rev. Dr. Sheron C. Patterson. Photo courtesy of the author.

A United Methodist call to healthy aging
The Rev. Eun Chul Cho preaches at First Korean United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Illinois, in 2023. File photo by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim.

Why I chose to remain in The United Methodist Church
The Rev. Mark Obrzut. Photo courtesy of Lucy Obrzut.

Rising up and loving boldly
The Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston. Photo courtesy of the author.

When the doors were not yet open
The Rev. Stephanie Vader. Photo courtesy of the author.

Pastor urges halt to troops’ presence in DC
The Rev. Keri Cress. Photo courtesy of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference.

Love of neighbor drives advocacy in political spaces
Cliff White. Photo courtesy of the author.

Another United Methodist way to look at high court’s voting decision
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Multimedia

Faith Stories
The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas makes therapeutic soaps and creams to soothe skin allergies. Photos courtesy of Handmade Luxuries.
The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas makes therapeutic soaps and creams to soothe skin allergies. Photos courtesy of Handmade Luxuries.

A ministry of healing
Faith, resilience and self-care come together in United Methodist pastor’s unique ministry, which includes a vegan skincare line.

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Disaster Relief
Lahaina United Methodist Church on Maui lost its sanctuary in the deadly Maui wildfires, but its congregation never lost its faith. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

3 years after wildfire, hope spreads in Lahaina
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder offers a blessing to Julia Sugarbaker, a mini goldendoodle, at Pinnacle View United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. Snyder and co-author Gayle Fiser have written a book on how churches can start successful pet ministries. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

How churches can adopt their own pet ministries
Faith Sharing
Happy Fourth of July! Photo by Mike DuBose; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media graphics from UM News
Mission and Ministry
Holly Petti and her dog Paisley chat with people entering the Sanctuary at Pinnacle View United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. The church has a designated dog greeter every Sunday in addition to numerous pet outreach ministries the congregation offers. Image from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Dog church welcomes people and pets
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