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Social Concerns

The Rev. Gilbert Caldwell, a retired United Methodist pastor and civil rights activist who marched alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., speaks during a Black Lives Matter rally June 7 in Willingboro, N.J. To Caldwell’s right is his wife, Grace Caldwell. To Caldwell’s left is the Rev. Vanessa Wilson, chairperson of the Greater New Jersey Commission on Race and Religion and pastor of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Willingboro. The protest was one of many taking place in the U.S. in smaller cities and towns involving United Methodists. Photo by Aaron Wilson Watson.

Smaller communities affected by protests

United Methodists have been involved in Black Lives Matter rallies in small towns and midsize cities.

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Mission and Ministry

The Nyadire Social Committee distributes food to families at The United Methodist Church’s Nyadire Mission in Mutoko, Zimbabwe. The Nyadire Connection, an all-volunteer group founded by individuals from a network of United Methodist churches in Pittsburgh, raised more than $25,000 for food relief at the mission. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Donations pour in for church hospitals, missions

United Methodist hospitals in Zimbabwe receive protective gear for front-line workers, while mission families get food relief from Nyadire Connection.

Social Concerns

Panelists discuss Methodism’s record on race during a livestreamed denominational town hall meeting. The gathering was moderated by Erin Hawkins (bottom right) of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. Panelists included (clockwise from bottom left): Alison Collis Greene, The Revs. Alfred T. Day III, William Bobby McClain and Lisa Dellinger. UM News screenshot via YouTube.

Unsnarling US and church racial history

Town hall explored Methodism’s complicated and sometimes suppressed record on race to help United Methodists turn away from past sins.

Mission and Ministry

A volunteer from Tulsa Indian United Methodist Church loads up food boxes in a shopping cart so participants can take them home to a nearby apartment complex. Tulsa Indian United Methodist Church operates a food bank on the last Friday of the month. Photo by Ginny Underwood, UM News.

Native ministry fills need in Tulsa food desert

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people seeking help at Tulsa Indian United Methodist Church has doubled.

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Mission and Ministry

Dozens gather for the burial of the Rev. Themba Siwela of Gutu Mupandawana Circuit Masvingo District. Many did not wear face masks or maintain social distancing. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Close ties challenge rural Africa COVID-19 fight

Social Concerns

The Rev. David Wilson, conference superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church, attaches banners from his conference to a fence near the Dakotas Access Pipeline, Highway 1806, near Cannon Ball, N.D. File photo by Dave Stucke, Dakotas Conference.

Court ruling temporarily halts Dakota pipeline

Bishop Kenneth H. Carter gives the sermon and benediction during opening worship for the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. File photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

Delegates: Use GC2020 delay for new vision

The Rev. Michelle Wilson offers sack lunches from the door of the church van as part of the Hands of Hope food security program at Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. The church received a Sheltering in Love grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief that has enabled it to expand existing food security ministries with seniors and persons experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

In trying times, churches extend their reach

Mission and Ministry

A woman in protective gear holds out a swab to a woman who has come for COVID-19 testing at Cochran Chapel United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. Cars lined up early for the June 29 opportunity. Photo by Matt Jacob, North Texas Conference.

Church parking lots fill for COVID-19 testing

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Multimedia

Mission and Ministry

A well pad for a hydraulically fractured gas well lies at the end of a gravel access road near Plum Run, W.Va. Aerial photography flight courtesy of SouthWings.

Photo Feature: Preaching creation care in the land of fracking

The continued rise of fracking activity in West Virginia has divided not only communities but also churches — usually between those who stand to profit and others concerned about the long-term environmental impact.

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Mission and Ministry

Ruth Moreno shows her brother, Lino, how to keep his hands warm as the sun rises behind them on the Santa Fe Bridge over the Rio Grande in Juárez, Mexico. They make the two-hour cross-border journey each school day to attend the United Methodist Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Lydia Patterson Institute is a dream maker for young students

Social Concerns

Bishop Woodie W. White (center) crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, during the 50th anniversary observance in 2015 of Bloody Sunday. With him are his wife, Kim (right), Ruby Shinhoster and Beth Clarke. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

A look back at Bloody Sunday’s 50th anniversary

Jorge João Novo lifts a wooden pole into place to help secure an emergency tarp over his home after the roof was peeled off by Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

2019: The year in UM News photos

“Faithful Giving in a Time of Change,” a roundtable discussion of connectional giving in The United Methodist Church, is a video resource designed for local congregations to help explain the role of giving in the church. Panelists were (from left) Christine Dodson, the Rev. Reginald Clemons, John Pearce, the Rev. Lyssette Perez, the Rev. Dennis Shaw and panel moderator Vicki Brown. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

Faithful Giving in a Time of Change

Commentaries

Time for Cross and Flame to go

When pandemic ends, confusion in church will remain

The Rev. Byron Thomas. Photo courtesy of Ben Hill United Methodist Church

Black father prepares sons for racial injustice

The Rev. Christopher P. Momany. Photo by Kristen Schell.

Confronting ridiculous 'logic' of white supremacy

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Ask The UMC

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?

John Wesley was born in a small town in northeast England. His family's home still stands there.

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Social Concerns

United Methodists pray before a national rally in Washington to end racism in 2018. File photo by Kathy L. Gilbert, UM News.

Ask The UMC: What does The United Methodist Church say about racism?

Mission and Ministry

In this 2013 file photo, the Rev. Eunice Musa Iliya (right) participates in an International Women's Day vigil, sponsored by United Methodist Women. Photo by Kristina Krug, courtesy of United Methodist Women.

Ask The UMC: What does it mean to ‘resist evil, injustice and oppression’?

A mosaic for Pentecost features elements of fire. Image by Holger Schué, courtesy of Pixabay.

Ask The UMC: What is Pentecost?

Photo by skeeze, courtesy of pixabay.com; graphic by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications

Ask The UMC: What is our end goal as United Methodists?

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The Rev. Noel Alfonso honors fathers during a Father’s Day service June 21 at Munoz United Methodist Church in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Churches in North and South Cotabato in Mindanao and Nueva Ecija in Luzon were among those allowed to reopen under modified guidelines to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Noel Alfonso.

Churches adapt to ‘new normal’ in Philippines

While many United Methodist churches have seen giving drop since the COVID-19 pandemic suspended in-person worship, they also report resilience in the crisis. Some churches even report an increase in giving to go along alongside an increase in attendance through online worship. Photos: church by Steven Kyle Adair, clouds by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications; coins by Kevin Schneider, Pixabay; illustration by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Local churches show resilience in crisis

Yed Esaie Angoran, a key leader in The United Methodist Church in Côte d’Ivoire and the global denomination, died June 13. He was 73. 2008 file photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Yed Angoran, a global leader, dies at 73

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Ruth Moreno (in red sweatshirt) and her brother, Lino, make their way to school as the sun rises behind them on the Santa Fe Bridge over the Rio Grande in Juárez, Mexico, in November 2019. They made the two-hour cross-border journey each school day to attend the United Methodist Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas, before in-person classes were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Surviving tribulations part of school’s history

A mural warns residents of the danger posed by the COVID-19 outbreak in the Navajo Nation near Shiprock, N.M. The United Methodist Church’s Four Corners Native American Ministry is helping support tribal members and front-line workers on the reservation. Photo by Andrew Hay, REUTERS.

United Methodist ministry aids Navajo Nation

Ten-year-old Britney Sadete performs at Cranborne United Methodist Church in Harare, Zimbabwe, during The UMC’s Got Talent, an annual Zimbabwe Episcopal Area talent show, on July 28, 2019. Britney, who took first place in the under-12 category and second place overall, recently released her first album. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Talented 10-year-old inspires others during pandemic

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Social Concerns

Jolie Mwaidi (right), leader of Kivu United Methodist Women, harvests cassava leaves in her garden in Bukavu, Congo. Joséphine Angel helps collect the crop. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News.

Pastors ‘make friends with the soil’ during lockdown

Bishop John Wesley Yohanna addresses the media during the commissioning of a borehole-drilling machine at The United Methodist Church’s headquarters in Jalingo, Nigeria. The rig will provide access to clean water in rural villages. Photo by the Rev. Ande Emmanuel, UM News.

New drilling machine boosts clean water efforts

Baltimore-Washington Conference Bishop LaTrelle Easterling helps conduct a June 24 online “Service of Lament, Repentance, Communion and Commitment” while standing in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington. The hour-long video service is part of the denomination’s new initiative to combat racism. Screenshot of video by United Methodist Communications.

ʽService of Lament’ challenges church on racism

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Mission and Ministry

During the Ebola epidemic, East Congo Area Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda washes his hands and is helped by the Rev. Jean-Paul Omole, superintendent of the Goma District, during the Kivu Annual Conference in June 2019. Photo By Chadrack Londe, UM News.

Churches celebrate end of 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak

Workers with the church’s Department of Community Services load supplies onto a vehicle to deliver to rural Liberia. The food relief — supported by UMCOR and other global partners — is part of the efforts of The United Methodist Church’s Anti COVID-19 Taskforce. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News.

Food relief helps in Liberia’s COVID-19 fight

An Africa University student and a Yale student have co-founded a company they hope can provide small solar-powered clinics in African communities that have no health care. The students are Munyaradzi Chakonda (left) from Africa University and Jon Schulder (right) from Yale. Composite created by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

AU, Yale students aim to fill health care gaps

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Delegates hold hands and pray during the Feb. 23, 2019, opening plenary of the special session of General Conference held in St. Louis. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Q&A: What delay means for General Conference

Bishops of The United Methodist Church announced the launch of a multi-level effort throughout the denomination to dismantle racism and promote collective action for racial justice. Western Pennsylvania Area Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi stands in front of an image of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn. Photo by Jackie Campbell, Western Pennsylvania Conference.

Bishops pledge more effective anti-racism campaign

Bishops join hands in prayer during the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. In most cases, bishops who planned to retire this year or early next year are staying until new bishop elections can be held. File photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

Delay in elections upends bishops’ plans

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