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Local Church
New mask recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the rise in the delta variant of the coronavirus affect churches' decisions on in-person worship and safety protocols. Pews image by Andrew Seaman, courtesy of Unsplash; mask image courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.
New mask recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the rise in the delta variant of the coronavirus affect churches' decisions on in-person worship and safety protocols. Pews image by Andrew Seaman, courtesy of Unsplash; mask image courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Churches mask up, close doors as virus spikes
As the U.S. sees a surge of the more-contagious delta variant, United Methodist churches are taking extra precautions. Congregations also are taking steps to reach vaccine holdouts.

Editor's Picks

Church Leadership
The Rev. H. Eddie Fox reads the gospel lesson during morning worship at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Fox, a longtime director of World Methodist Evangelism, died July 28, 2021, at age 83. File photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Rev. Eddie Fox, evangelism pioneer, dies
As longtime director of World Methodist Evangelism, he traveled the globe to share the gospel and encourage other Wesleyan Christians to do the same.
Mission and Ministry
Tackilar Mawoneke holds one of the chickens she received in a partnership between United Methodists in Zimbabwe’s Makoni Buhera District and Indiana’s Northwest District. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Sisters in ministry nurture one another
United Methodists in Zimbabwe’s Makoni Buhera District and Indiana’s Northwest District share food, prayer support and the blessing of friendship.
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

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
General Church
Bishop Daniel Wandabula, the resident bishop of the East Africa Episcopal Area, gives the conference welcome message during the 2019 Kenya-Ethiopia Annual Conference in Meru, Kenya. The General Council on Finance and Administration board denied the bishop’s request for an emergency grant and urged him to address longstanding auditing issues. File photo by Gad Maiga, UM News.

Bishop urged to resolve auditing issues
Theology and Education
A man breaks a window as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Discipleship Ministries is offering a new Courageous Conversations resource to help United Methodists talk about Christian nationalism in a respectful way. REUTERS/Leah Millis.

Discussing Christian nationalism — carefully
Social Concerns
Anoziva Sisimayi and her son Kudzai Gombakomba receive a goat from the Rev. Austern Chepiri in Mujaji, Zimbabwe. A goat breeding program sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church has helped more than 100 orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. Photo by Pastor Hillary Mukahanana.

Goat-breeding program benefits vulnerable children
Local Church
A volunteer holds an umbrella for a woman at Crosspoint, a United Methodist church in Niceville, Fla. Ninety percent of the congregation at its South Crestview campus volunteers in some capacity. Video image courtesy of Crosspoint via Vimeo by UM News.

Volunteerism is a priority at Florida church
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

Mission and Ministry
(Clockwise, from top left) Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the Rev. Stephen Handy leads a prayer vigil in Nashville, Tenn., for those lost to acts of racism; Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church in San Juan, Texas; volunteers from the United Methodist Committee on Relief distribute food to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines. Photos by Mike DuBose, UM News.
(Clockwise, from top left) Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the Rev. Stephen Handy leads a prayer vigil in Nashville, Tenn., for those lost to acts of racism; Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church in San Juan, Texas; volunteers from the United Methodist Committee on Relief distribute food to survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines. Photos by Mike DuBose, UM News.

United Methodist photos
UM News has thousands of images from around the world of The United Methodist Church in action. These images are free to use with an identifying credit for United Methodist organizations. Check out our Flickr page now.

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Human Sexuality
Ms. Penny Cost is the drag persona of Isaac Simmons, the first openly queer man to be certified as a candidate for ordination within the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church. Simmons serves as project and remote learning coordinator for Hope United Methodist Church in Bloomington, Ill. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ministry candidate preaches in drag to ‘speak in a new way’
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?
Mission and Ministry
Tim Tanton (center, in red), chief news and information officer for United Methodist Communications, shares updates with African communicators and other UMCom staff during the 2019 General Conference. World Press Freedom Day, observed May 3, commemorates journalists and highlights the difficulties they face while reporting truth. File photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News

World Press Freedom Day and the church
Human Rights
Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño shares personal reflections on strong women in the Bible and her life during a video message for Women’s History Month. Screengrab courtesy of the California-Nevada Conference by UM News.

‘Girls, Jesus is calling YOU!’
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Commentaries

The Rev. Olu Brown. Photo courtesy of the author.

Embrace your ‘next’ as part of God’s plan
Bishop Karen Oliveto. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Pastoring while Black
Tim Tanton, United Methodist Communications. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Social media enables community around news
The Rev. Dr. Sun-joong Kim. Photo courtesy of the author.

Living as a United Methodist pastor in Nomadland
The Rev. Byron Thomas. Photo courtesy of Ben Hill United Methodist Church

Black father prepares sons for racial injustice
Laura Derr. Photo courtesy of the author.

Systems that nurtured me had opposite effect on others
Rick Reinhard. Photo by Valerie Smallwood.

Church must tackle its real estate crisis
The Rev. Dr. William B. Lawrence. Photo by Todd W. Lawrence.

Asking United Methodist questions
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Ask The UMC

Theology and Education
In times of illness, death and grief, pastors offer the hope and peace found in Jesus Christ. Image by truthseeker08, courtesy of Pixabay.
In times of illness, death and grief, pastors offer the hope and peace found in Jesus Christ. Image by truthseeker08, courtesy of Pixabay.

Ask The UMC: Do United Methodists offer last rites?
United Methodists offer a ministry of prayer and presence with the dying and those caring for them.

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Theology and Education
The crocus is viewed by some as a symbol of hope and new life after winter. Image courtesy of Pixabay.

Ask The UMC: Death and Resurrection Series
Church History
Historic St. George’s United Methodist Church has been called one of the sites all United Methodists should see because it has been a Methodist house of worship continually since 1769. Video image by Jess Warnock, courtesy of United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: Where was the first Methodist annual conference in America?
Church History
The Rev. Ju-sam Ryang is called the “Asbury of Korea” because he played an important role in unifying the two Methodist denominations of Korea. Photo courtesy of the General Commission on Archives and History; graphic by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: Who are Korean pioneers in Methodist history?
Theology and Education
Pentecost mosaic Image by Holger Schué from Pixabay 1500

Ask The UMC: What is Pentecost?
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Categories

Local Church
The Rev. Annamore Kahlari walks home from Nemanje United Methodist Church, one of five congregations she serves near Makoni Buhera, Zimbabwe. The church is about 15 miles from her home. Photo by Chenayi Kumuterera, UM News.

Rural pastor perseveres amid challenges
Loice Namatai Chinyerere (left) and Taziwa Brian Mbwizhu sing during the launch of their album at 7 Arts Avondale, a music venue in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Young musicians praise God and share their faith
Rustin Parsons, co-lay leader for the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Ga., announces that the church is beginning the process of disaffiliating from denomination during an April 26 press conference. Amid a continued fight over who should be the church’s pastor, the North Georgia Conference announced late July 12 that it was assuming management of the congregation’s assets. Screenshot of livestream by UM News, courtesy of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.

Conference assumes management of megachurch
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Evangelism
Churches may have shuttered their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic, but disciple-making kept going through digital ministries. In observance of Social Media Day, UM News explores how churches are reaching new people through social media and online offerings. Globe by OpenClipart-Vectors, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media takes disciple-making global
The Rev. David Petty, shown in the inset image at lower right, plays the Mass Effect video game online. Petty, senior pastor at St Paul’s United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been in ministry with the gaming community since 2017. UM News screenshot from YouTube.

Online gamer ministry offers unique outreach
The Rev. Jacqui King (second from right) clasps hands and prays with people at the Discipleship Ministries booth during the 2019 meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of King.

Connecting with people through prayer
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Social Concerns
Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan pick through debris piled up by the storm in Tacloban, Philippines, in 2013 while looking for their lost possessions. Young Methodists from around the globe are working together to fight global warming and have focused on equipping vulnerable communities on the front lines of climate change with the resources they need to adapt to the changing world. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Young Methodists raising climate change awareness
United Methodist Bishop LaTrelle Easterling helps conduct a denomination-wide online service of lament for racism while standing in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington on June 24, 2020. The anti-racism work of the church is just getting started after the first year of the Dismantling Racism campaign, say bishops and others. File screenshot of video by United Methodist Communications.

Anti-racism campaign marks one year
Demonstrators carry placards during a march against xenophobia in Johannesburg in 2015. Xenophobia — fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners — continues to be widespread in South Africa, where harassment and violence against African and Asian non-nationals are routine and sometimes lethal, according to Human Rights Watch. File photo by Mike Hutchings, Reuters.

Church takes on xenophobia in South Africa
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Mission and Ministry
Emilia Benhilda Marembo weighs a baby at the Dindi United Methodist Clinic in Murewa, Zimbabwe. The rural clinic is an outreach of Nyadire United Methodist Hospital Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

TNC celebrates 15 years of sharing God’s love
Children dance in front of the altar rail during vacation Bible school at Connell Memorial United Methodist Church in Goodlettsville, Tenn. The church served as a test site for a new VBS curriculum, “Food Truck Party,” which Cokesbury officially launched on June 30. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Congregations eagerly embrace VBS opportunities
Pupils of the UMC Kulanda Town in Bo, in southern Sierra Leone, rush back to class in March 2020, shortly before schools were closed down after the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country. There are more than 350 United Methodist schools in Sierra Leone, with the majority of them assisted by the government and affected by the free education initiative. File photo by Phileas Jusu, UM News.

Free education policy affects church schools
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General Church
The choir of Red Mountain United Methodist Church in Mesa, Ariz., sings "Jesus at the Center" during opening worship of the online special session of the Western Jurisdiction on July 17. Both the Western Jurisdiction and Southeastern Jurisdiction have held special sessions in recent days and taken up questions that affect the church’s future. Screengrab courtesy of the Western Jurisdiction via Zoom by UM News.

2 jurisdictions plan for church future
Nigeria Area Bishop John Wesley Yohanna (center) speaks to people at a camp for internally displaced persons in Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria, in 2019. Conflict has intensified in the Nigeria Episcopal Area in recent months. Two aides to Yohanna reported several United Methodists to the police for allegedly disrupting the Nigerian United Methodist Church and training others to become “rude and aggressive” toward Yohanna, while opponents have accused the bishop of treating them unfairly and mismanaging projects — charges the bishop denies. File photo by Tim Tanton, UM News.

Divide deepens among Nigerian church leaders
The Kern Building, owned by Discipleship Ministries and the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministries since 1950, stands like a beacon in Nashville, Tenn. The two agencies sold the building to Vanderbilt University on July 15. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Agencies sell jointly owned building
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