United Methodist News Service

Top Story

Social Concerns

Delegates and guests sing during closing worship at the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula at Grace United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Front row, from left are: Bishop John Higon, American Conference of the Korean Methodist Church; the Rev. James Chongo Kim, First United Methodist Church of Flushing, N.Y.; the Rev. Kim Sei Hwan, Korean Church of Atlanta United Methodist Church; and Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Finding new urgency in quest for peace in Korea

Methodist-led gathering of religious leaders in Atlanta sees both optimism and urgency in efforts to end 70-year division on Korean Peninsula.

Editor's Picks

Social Concerns

Immigrants who have just been released from a U.S. Border Patrol detention facility wait at the bus station in McAllen, Texas, in this photo from Aug. 1. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Bishops: Don't villainize migrants

In a statement, United Methodist bishops as well as Methodist colleagues in Mexico and El Salvador called on their churches and governments to do more to welcome the caravans of people seeking refuge.

General Church

Bishops Scott Jones (right) and Kasap Owan (center) celebrate the closing worship at the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s global celebration Nov. 3 in Marietta, Ga. Photo by Kathy L. Gilbert, UMNS.

WCA plans new Methodist movement

The Wesleyan Covenant Association began working on a contingency plan for creating a new Methodist movement. The plan depends on decisions from the 2019 General Conference.

Connectional Table

The Connectional Table opens its Oct. 31-Nov. 2 meeting in Atlanta with Holy Communion. From left, the Rev. Mike Slaughter receives the sacrament from Bishop Christian Alsted, Connectional Table chair, and the Rev. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, chief connectional ministries office. Photo by Emily Clemons, Connectional Table.

Leaders affirm move toward new U.S. structure

Connectional Table members are developing a two-step process they hope will help lead to a decision-making body that deals with exclusively U.S. issues.

Latest

General Conference

Bishops Scott Jones of the Texas Conference and Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference celebrate Holy Communion during the closing worship of the Council of Bishops meeting. Bishops discussed their role at the special General Conference during their meeting at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island, Ga. Photo by Heather Hahn, UMNS.

Bishops urge trust in GC2019 delegates

Mission and Ministry

The Rev. Matthew Richard Schlimm, author of "70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know," uses a light board to write two Hebrew words. At top is the word that transliterates to "shalom," meaning "peace" or "well-being." The bottom word is "khesed," meaning "love" or "loyalty." Schlimm is a United Methodist elder and professor of Old Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Photo by Nick Story, the University of Dubuque.

Advice to Christians: Learn a little Hebrew

Mission and Ministry

A satellite image shows smoke pouring from a wildfire that broke out in the early morning hours of Nov. 8, just outside Paradise, Ca. The Camp Fire, named for its proximity to Camp Creek Road in Feather River Canyon, has overtaken and nearly burned out the town of 30,000 residents located in northern California. NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Churches coping with California fires

Former President Jimmy Carter welcomes delegates to the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula at The Carter Center in Atlanta. The event, which builds upon a growing momentum for peace in Korea, is hosted by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Carter commends peace efforts for Korea

Filipino bishops worship with their colleagues during the United Methodist Council of Bishops November meeting on St. Simons Island, Ga. The Filipino bishops urged United Methodists in the Philippines to continue in holy conversation and prayer leading up to the 2019 General Conference. Photo by Heather Hahn, UMNS.

Filipino bishops call for unity

Sign up for our newsletter!

Multimedia

General Conference

The Rev. Gary Graves, secretary of the General Conference, shares some of the questions he’s been hearing about the special called General Conference taking place in February 2019. Graves 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. Video image courtesy of United Methodist News Service. — Video image courtesy of United Methodist News Service.

Seeing a Way Forward: The Rev. Gary Graves

How does GC2019 relate to GC2020? What are the differences? These are some of the questions addressed by the Rev. Gary Graves, secretary of the General Conference, for our video series.

More

Bishop Ough announced a plan a General Conference 2016. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, United Methodist Communications.

Seeing a Way Forward: Bishop Ough

People living on the street, many of them migrants, pray during a worship service and dinner provided by El Divino Redentor Methodist Church at Mariachi Plaza in Mexicali, Mexico.

Love of Christ extends to immigrants living on street

General Conference

Video image of Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, courtesy of the West Virginia Conference.

Seeing a Way Forward: Bishop Steiner Ball

General Conference

Bishop John Yambasu gives the sermon during morning worship May 19 at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UMNS.

Seeing a Way Forward: Bishop Yambasu

Commentaries

Commentary: Thoughts upon GC2019 via Methodist history

Andrew Ponder Williams. Photo courtesy of Andrew Ponder Williams.

5 reasons millennials like United Methodism

Tim Tanton. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Commentary: How UMNS covers displaced peoples

Photo of retired Bishop Michael J. Coyner, courtesy of the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church website.

Commentary: Misused words in church debates

Ask The UMC

Bishop Sharma Lewis shares a moment with Bishop Lindsey Davis, her former bishop in North Georgia Conference, during her consecration on July 15, 2016, at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center at Lake Junaluska, N. C. File photo by Burt Williams, Western North Carolina Conference.

Ask The UMC: How are bishops chosen in The United Methodist Church?

United Methodist bishops are ordained elders elected and consecrated for a ministry of servant leadership and supervision.

More

Theology and Education

Pumpkins fill the grounds of the 12th South Farmers Market in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Laurens Glass.

Ask The UMC: What is The United Methodist Church's view of Halloween?

(Left to right) Central United Methodist Church in Luanda, Angola, photo by Mike DuBose; food distribution site for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, Dagami, Philippines, photo by Mike DuBose; the Rev. Shalom Agtarap, photo by Paul Jeffrey; stained glass cross and flame, photo by Kathleen Barry.

Ask The UMC: Has The United Methodist Church always had an official symbol like the cross and flame?

General Conference

Overhead view of the 1976 General Conference. Photo by John C. Goodwin, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Ask The UMC: How often has there been a special called General Conference?

Mission and Ministry

Young adults pass the collection plate during the contemporary worship at McKendree United Methodist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga. 2016 file photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS.

Ask The UMC: What does The United Methodist Church teach about tithing?

Categories

Karen A. Henry, an attorney at Crossroads United Methodist Church, Compton, Calif., explains how she helped her pastor and congregation start expungement clinics during a workshop at the 2018 National Prison Summit in Nashville, Tenn. Expungement refers to the process of sealing arrest and conviction records to help ex-offenders find employment and housing. Photo by Kathy L. Gilbert, UMNS.

Small church helps ex-offenders return to society

Mikayla Jaissle (center, wearing pink shirt) stands in line with other students while teacher Nicholas Chidzikwe checks her work at Hartzell Primary School in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The 10-year-old from Lakewood, Ohio, accompanied her mother, the Rev. Laura Jaissle, on the trip and attended class at the United Methodist school for two days. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah.

Young visitor makes impact on Zimbabwe students

Charlie Moore, a member of Community United Methodist Church in Crofton, Maryland, and team leader of the Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission, hands shoes to a student at Hanwa Mission School in Zimbabwe. For over 20 years, the U.S. church has been working with United Methodists in the Zimbabwe West Conference to improve lives in the rural Murewa District. Photo by Chenayi Kumuterera, UMNS.

Two-decade partnership pays off in Zimbabwe

View More

Dusty Knisley (left) of Calvary United Methodist Church in Dillsburg, Pa., shares her family story and photos with the Rev. Daisy Gbloh from Sierra Leone. Knisley hosted a team from the Sierra Leone Conference at her home. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UMNS.

Sierra Leone Initiative builds relationships, cultivates mission

Babangida Ibrahim laminates a document at the Northern Nigeria Conference’s computer training center in Gombe, Nigeria. The center has a new solar energy system that is helping the conference and its students save money. Photo by Daniel Garba.

Solar power a game changer for Nigeria computer center

Church members in the Shapure community of Nyanga, Zimbabwe, celebrate the new sanctuary donated to their community by United Methodists from Flekkefjord, Norway. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UMNS.

Norwegians build bridge with Zimbabwe United Methodists

View More

Social Concerns

Anna Lakeh, 90, of the Gompa District, attends a free annual health screening organized by The United Methodist Church in Liberia. Photo by E Julu Swen, UMNS.

Seniors seek increased attention from church in Liberia

Bishops LaTrelle Easterling and Leonard Fairley present a statement that deplores the surge in racism in the U.S. Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe looks on. Photo by the Rev. Maidstone Mulenga, Council of Bishops.

Bishops sound alarm about surge in racism

Bishop John K. Yambasu, president of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, delivers his presidential address in Kabala, Sierra Leone, in September. He said the church has engaged in research and dialogue to minimize the practice of female genital mutilation. Photo by Keziah Kargbo.

Religious leaders break silence on female genital mutilation

View More

Mission and Ministry

United Methodists help pick up trash at a bus depot in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The clean-up efforts followed eco-congregation training sponsored by The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe as part of an ecumenical program designed to help churches link environmental issues and Christian faith. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UMNS.

Zimbabwe churches launch eco-congregation initiative

Disabled children test out five of the wheelchairs distributed by Raphael Bareyi (in background) in Stoneridge, Zimbabwe. The children are Tanaka Jokonia, Rodrick Ngwaru, Tsitsi Dzengu, Natasha Dziva, Kerry Musana. Standing to the right is Rachel Kaziti Madzana. Photo by Chenayi Kumuterera, UMNS.

United Methodist focuses on others with disabilities

Members and guests of Malhangalene United Methodist Church exercise in Peace Plaza in Maputo, Mozambique, during a citizenship and health fair offered by the church and the city government. Photo by Joao Filimone Sambo, UMNS.

Church helps people obtain IDs in Mozambique

View More

United Methodist and Episcopal leaders discuss the work toward full communion during the Council of Bishops meeting on St. Simons Island, Ga. From left are United Methodist Bishop Gregory V. Palmer of the West Ohio Conference, the Rev. Canon C.K. Robertson of the Episcopal Church and the Rev. Margaret Rose of the Episcopal Church. Photo by Heather Hahn, UMNS.

Bishops strengthen ties with Episcopalians

Bishop Thomas Bickerton speaks during the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Seeing a Way Forward: Bishop Bickerton

Connectional Table members talk about ways to strengthen relationships across all levels of the denomination. Pictured from left are the Rev. Ole Birch of Denmark, Benedita Penicela-Nhambiu of Mozambique and Michelle Hettman of the Virginia Conference. Photo by Heather Hahn, UMNS.

Some church leaders say rethink budget cuts

View More