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Local Church
A view of the United States House of Representatives chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A view of the United States House of Representatives chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

31 United Methodists serve in 117th Congress
United Methodists serve on both sides of the aisle in a Congress faced with repairing a highly polarized country and responding to violence at the Capitol.

Editor's Picks

Social Concerns
Supporters of President Donald Trump storm into the U.S. Capitol in Washington after clashing with police to protest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress on Jan. 6. Photo by Shannon Stapleton, REUTERS.

Assault on US Capitol dismays United Methodists
Church members both near and far were disturbed by the actions of a mob that forced its way into the Capitol.
Mission and Ministry
Custodian James Jimmerson disinfects a microphone to prevent any possible spread of the coronavirus at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, May 10, following online worship, which is recorded in the sanctuary. As churches considered returning to in-person worship, cleaning measures are one of many factors leaders considered. “I believe my job, my part in this, is to make sure people are safe in here,” Jimmerson said. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

COVID-19 is top church story of 2020
The church response to the COVID-19 pandemic was voted the top United Methodist news story of 2020 by conference communicators in the U.S., Africa, Europe and the Philippines and UM News staff.
Mission and Ministry
Innocent Afful (third from left), a Ghanaian missionary who works with orphans and vulnerable children in Congo, has seen his job change during the COVID pandemic. Photo courtesy of Innocent Afful.

Missionaries cope with coronavirus challenges
Travel bans and fears of contracting COVID-19 complicated the service of United Methodist missionaries in 2020.

Latest

General Church
Munashe Furusa speaks during the 25th anniversary celebration for Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe, in 2017. Furusa, the school’s vice chancellor, died Jan. 13. He was 59. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Africa University vice chancellor Furusa dies
Church Leadership
Kirbyjon Caldwell leads a Bible study at Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston in 2011. Caldwell was sentenced Jan. 13, 2021, to six years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $3.5 million investment scheme. Caldwell, who has made restitution of more than $4 million to victims of the scheme, apologized for his conduct during the sentencing hearing in federal court in Shreveport, La. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Former megachurch pastor gets 6 years in prison
Social Concerns
Displaced people, including United Methodists, from Mutwangwa and Eringeti villages arrive in Beni, Congo, after fleeing an attack by insurgents. Twenty-five civilians, including seven United Methodists, were killed in the Dec. 31 massacre. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News.

United Methodists killed in Congo massacre
General Church
Custodian James Jimmerson disinfects pews to prevent any possible spread of the coronavirus at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, May 10, 2020, following online worship, which is recorded in the sanctuary. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

2020: The year in UM News photos
General Church
The Rev. Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan, a General Conference delegate from the California-Nevada Conference, speaks during the last day of the 2019 special General Conference in St. Louis. The Commission on the General Conference met online in December to discuss planning for the General Conference postponed by COVID-19. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Grappling with postponed General Conference
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Multimedia

Global Health
Women carry water as the sun rises at Njenjete village near Madisi, Malawi. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Women carry water as the sun rises at Njenjete village near Madisi, Malawi. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

‘Water is Life’ chronicles global struggle for clean water
More than 750 million people around the world lack reliable water access. Three years in the making, photographer Mike DuBose and reporter Kathy L. Gilbert document the church's efforts to provide clean water to rural Africa in a special photo feature.

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Faith Sharing
Appalachian Trail chaplain “Chappy Jack” Layfield on the Appalachian Trail in Roan Mountain, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Appalachian Trail chaplain shares faith journey in devotional book
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Carlton R. “Sam” Young is, at 94, still composing and arranging music. Editor of The Methodist Hymnal (1966) and The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), he’s out with a new collection of sheet music called “Today I Live: Hymns and Songs of Remembrance and Hope.” Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

At 94, he’s ‘Mr. Music of United Methodism’
Worship
Michael Vaughn, director of music ministry at A&M United Methodist Church in College Station, Texas, has directed and edited virtual choir videos, including with his church’s children’s choir. United Methodist music ministers are coming up with creative ways to keep music going and keep choir members engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Michael Vaughn.

Pandemic challenges music ministers, choirs
Racism
Speakers for the Sept. 16 panel discussion on the theological roots of racism and colonialism are (left to right) the Revs. Mai-Anh Le Tran, Edgardo Colón-Emeric and Willie James Jennings. The United Methodist Church held the livestreamed discussion as part of its Dismantling Racism series. Photos courtesy of Tran, Jennings, and photo of Colón-Emeric by Les Todd; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Grappling with how racism coexists with faith
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Commentaries

Wisconsin Conference Bishop Hee-Soo Jung. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

My pursuit and dreams of Korean peace
Greater New Jersey Area Bishop John R. Schol. Photo by Shari deAngelo, the Greater New Jersey Conference.

Our public discourse should model the life of Jesus
Bishop Joel Martinez. Photo courtesy of the Council of Bishops.

The church is not yet a ‘great multitude’
Anne E. Streaty Wimberly. Photo courtesy of Anne E. Streaty Wimberly

My soul cries for a peaceable family of God
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Ask The UMC

Mission and Ministry
Nativity set from Peru, photographed at the Upper Room Museum in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, United Methodist Communications.
Mike DuBose

Ask The UMC: Does Christmas have roots in pagan beliefs?
A look at the long history of celebrating Christmas on December 25 and how the early church arrived at that date.

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Mission and Ministry
A medieval painting of the "Doom" or Last Judgment in St. Thomas Church, Salisbury, England. Photo by Nessino, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Ask The UMC: What is the history of Advent?
“I am who I am” (Exodus 3:13-15) is God’s response to Moses’s question, “… and if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” Milky Way image by Pete Linn, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: What names can be used for God?
Mission and Ministry
Ghanaian immigrants gather for worship at Calvary United Methodist Church in Hamburg, Germany. They rent the sanctuary from the Evangelical Church, the state church of Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ask The UMC: Do United Methodists observe Sabbath on Sunday?
Theology and Education
A view of the statue "Christ the Redeemer" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Scripture is Matthew 5:44. Photo by Jose Guertzenstein, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications.

Ask The UMC: How do we love our enemies?
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Categories

Local Church
United Methodist News honors notable church members who died in 2020. Candle image by Gerd Altmann, courtesy of Pixabay.

2020: Remembering notable United Methodists
The Rev. Rudy Rasmus, senior pastor at St. John’s Downtown Church in Houston and editor of the book “I’m Black. I’m Christian. I’m Methodist,” attends a food bank event with the singer Beyoncé, who grew up in that church. Photo courtesy of St. John’s Downtown Church in Houston.

Black United Methodists want changes
Speakers at the Liberation Project’s roundtable launch event meet via Facebook Live Nov. 19. The group aims to provide support and resources for United Methodists who want to work for a just and liberated church future. Screenshot of the Liberation Project launch event by UM News.

Group pursues liberation within denomination
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Evangelism
United Methodist missionary Innocent Phrytoil Afful and children from the Kinkole Orphanage display gifts they received from a donor. Afful helps care for 475 children at the orphanage in Kinshasa, Congo. Photo courtesy of Innocent Phrytoil Afful.

Church puts love into action amid pandemic
East Congo Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda blesses the new Amani United Methodist Church in Goma, Congo, in October. The church is the 33rd new church built in eastern Congo over the past eight years as part of Unda's "Rise and Build" evangelism campaign. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News.

Building churches and numbers in East Congo
Taurai Mhishi hasn’t let his disability keep him from serving The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, where he has worked to clear church grounds for a parking lot at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. His servanthood during the pandemic has inspired others to lend a hand. Photo by Priscilla Muzerengwa, UM News.

Shining a light on servanthood during pandemic
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Social Concerns
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is providing materials to build temporary shelters for thousands of people who fled attacks by Islamist insurgents in the Cabo Delgado province of Northern Mozambique. Photo by Eurico Gustavo, UM News.

United Methodists flee insecurity in Mozambique
Nyengeterai Mafongoya holds a basket of 20-day-old chicks in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. She started with 20 chicks as part of a United Methodist Women poultry project in February and grown her brood to 100 birds. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Cooped up by pandemic, entrepreneurs turn to chickens
The Executive Committee of the United Methodist Church in Germany agreed to become more open and inclusive on matters relating to human sexuality during a video meeting Nov. 20-21. The decision seeks to preserve unity through a perspective of respectful coexistence as a way forward. Photo by Klaus Ulrich Ruof, United Methodist Communications Germany.

Norway, Germany move to more inclusivity
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Mission and Ministry
Students Munashe Chidewu (left) and Nyasha Homba wash their hands at a faucet served by a solar-powered well pump at the United Methodist Hanwa Mission in Macheke, Zimbabwe. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Keeping water flowing at church missions
Olivia (left) and Judah Brown hold sweet potatoes at First Fruits Farm in Louisburg, N.C. Owned by their parents Jason and Tay Brown, the farm supplies produce to Society of St. Andrew, which is helping get food to needy citizens. Photo courtesy of the Browns.

Feeding people is complicated but joyful
The Revs. Martha E. Vink (left) and Alka Lyall lead a Holy Communion service during an Advent gathering in December 2019 at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch, Colo. The two are among the collaborators organizing the Liberation Methodist Connexion, a new denomination that held an online launch event on Nov. 29. Photo courtesy of LMX.

New progressive Methodist denomination starts
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General Church
The parking lot of the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tenn., stands mostly empty on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Employees have worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health emergency also has caused Publishing House revenues to drop, prompting layoffs and a decision to put the headquarters up for sale. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Publishing House among pandemic victims
Nathan Jans, bundled up for the cold, assists with a recent food distribution at First United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls, S.D. With economic distress accompanying high COVID-19 numbers in the state, the church has become a partner with the nonprofit Feeding South Dakota. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Sara Nelson.

Dakotas Conference feels pain of COVID-19
Filipino Bishops Rodolfo A. Juan, Ciriaco Q. Francisco and Pedro M. Torio Jr. lead prayer during the 2019 Special Session of the United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis on Feb. 23. The Philippines Central Conference’s coordinating council voted to extend the episcopal leadership of the three bishops through the end of 2021. File photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

Filipinos debate, approve extension of bishops' terms
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