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Faith Stories
Charles H. Webb was much honored in Indiana for his leadership of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He found time to play organ for his local United Methodist church and to serve on The United Methodist Church’s Hymnal Revision Committee. Webb died April 13 at age 93. Photo courtesy of Malcolm Webb.
Charles H. Webb was much honored in Indiana for his leadership of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He found time to play organ for his local United Methodist church and to serve on The United Methodist Church’s Hymnal Revision Committee. Webb died April 13 at age 93. Photo courtesy of Malcolm Webb.

Methodist prodigy became a maestro
Charles H. Webb, who died April 13 at age 93, served The United Methodist Church during a long, stellar music career.

Editor's Picks

Judicial Council
Retired Bishop Marcus Matthews and other United Methodist bishops process into the opening worship service of the United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., on April 23, 2024. The Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, has released three decisions, including one related to the allocation of U.S. bishops. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Church court overturns bishop funding structure
The United Methodist Church’s top court has ruled unconstitutional some changes General Conference made that affect the funding of U.S. bishops.
Faith Stories
A new book, “Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation and Love,” documents the Rev. James Lawson Jr.’s prominent role working with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. At top right, Lawson helps lead the March for Peace, Jobs and Freedom in Washington in 1984 with members of Holman United Methodist Church. He was the longtime pastor of Holman, located in Los Angeles. At bottom right, Lawson makes a point during a 2016 interview with United Methodist News. Book cover courtesy of Random House; march by John C. Goodwin, Board of Global Ministries; portrait photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

The heroic life of the Rev. James Lawson
A new book documents the late United Methodist pastor’s prominent role working with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement.
Theology and Education
The Rev. Young Seon Christina Kim, a United Methodist missionary with Global Ministries and founder of Global Mission Secondary School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, addresses parents and guests at the school’s second graduation ceremony in November. Kim emphasized that the school is a Christian community where mentoring and service shape students’ character, preparing them to become the next generation of leaders in Tanzania. Photo by Asaph Sungura Ally, UM News.

Secondary school transforms lives in Tanzania
Its goal is to develop disciples of Jesus who are academically strong, rooted in faith, socially responsible and ready to serve beyond Tanzania’s borders.

Latest News

General Church
Bishops Tracy S. Malone and Ruben Saenz Jr. preside over a memorial service on April 26 during the bishops’ spring meeting in Jacksonville, Fla. Saenz is the new Council of Bishops president and co-convener of the 2026 Leadership Gathering’s design team. Malone, the council’s immediate past president, said the Oct. 20-24 event is part of the bishops’ commitment “to providing strategic, visionary, inclusive, innovative and missional leadership for the church.” Photo by Paul Gómez, United Methodist Communications.

Survey gives shape to Leadership Gathering
Violence
The Rev. Joseph M. De Castro is the pastor at First United Methodist Church in Dubai. His congregation of mostly migrant workers and others who live in the United Arab Emirates and surrounding countries have been caught in the middle of war. Photo courtesy of the TFUMC Dubai Media Team.

Middle East United Methodists feel brunt of war
Social Concerns
Photo courtesy of Adam Hamilton's exploratory committee.

Hamilton to run for Senate as a Democrat
General Conference
Emily Allen, a veteran lay delegate from the California-Nevada Conference, delivers a report during the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. on May 3, 2024. Allen has been elected to serve as the interim General Conference secretary beginning July 1. She will lead the planning of The United Methodist Church’s international legislative assembly, scheduled May 8-16, 2028, in Minneapolis. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.

Bishops elect interim General Conference head
Ecumenism
Retired professor Jin Kwan Kwon (left) and Vanderbilt University professor Joerg Rieger discuss Minjung theology — a liberation theology that emerged in the 1970s in South Korea — during a lecture March 31 at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn. The event was hosted by Vanderbilt’s Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice, which was founded by Rieger. Photo by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim, UM News.

Minjung theology offers lessons for today
Bishops
Council of Bishops President Tracy S. Malone, who also leads the Indiana Conference, delivers her final presidential address during the bishops’ spring meeting in Jacksonville, Fla. She challenged the bishops to let go of anxiety about the institution and see how God is forming the church for the future. Screen shot courtesy of the Council of Bishops via Facebook by UM News.

Bishops urged to stop looking backward
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Local Church
CRCC Madang is a training program for Korean pastors serving in cross-racial appointments. Graphic courtesy of CRCC Madang.

Madang marks 10th anniversary with renewed vision
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Evangelism
A United Methodist team talks with community members in Ankilimidega, Madagascar, during an evangelism campaign led by the church. The evangelists met with the traditional chief and other leaders during the mission, which was supported by a grant from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Photo by Limbera Gilbert, UM News.

Evangelism efforts flourish in southern Madagascar
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Social Concerns
Emily Yellin (center), co-author of civil rights leader the Rev. James Lawson Jr.’s memoir, speaks during a book launch Feb. 18 at Woolworth Theatre in Nashville, Tenn. Judge John C. Lawson II, Lawson’s son, is to her right, and to her left is Dennis Dickerson, a historian from Vanderbilt University. Photo by Joe Howell, Vanderbilt University.

Why Lawson selected Yellin as his co-author
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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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General Church
United Methodist leaders pray during a Feb. 27-28 summit in Nashville, Tenn., focused on the future of episcopal leadership. This week, the denomination’s Judicial Council will take up questions related to the allocation of U.S. bishops going forward. Photo by Andrew Jensen, General Council on Finance and Administration.

Church leaders chart new future for bishops
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Commentaries

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

Grace doesn’t grab: Why consent belongs in worship
John W. Coleman. Photo by Corbin Payne.

What comes next after ‘Faithful Resistance’ march?
Susan Clark. Photo courtesy of the author.

Winter guard meets Wesleyan warmth
The Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera. Photo by Brian McConkey Photography, courtesy of the Rev. Dr. Viera.

Church must do messy work of restoring community
The Rev. Dr. Michael L. Bowie Jr. Photo courtesy of the author.

A clean page for a critical time
The Rev. Mike Hickcox. Photo courtesy of the author.

Celebrate Black History Month by listening to historic voices
The Rev. Christopher P. Momany. Photo by Kristen Schell.

In troubling times, look to ‘higher law’

The Rev. Dr. Jefferson M. Furtado. Photo courtesy of the author.

Martin Luther King Jr. and the work we haven’t finished
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Multimedia

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.
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
A United Methodist church in Little Rock celebrates Earth Day by recognizing God’s care for his people and the pets they love.

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Social Concerns
Recipients of sun-powered ovens learn to adapt local recipes to the new cooking method. This photo was taken during a United Methodist Solar Oven Partners workshop for new oven owners in Bo, Sierra Leone, in December 2025. Photo courtesy of Solar Oven Partners.

Solar oven ministry changes lives
Faith Sharing
Photo by Austin Bond; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News

Social media graphics from UM News
Social Concerns
Christians from many faith denominations join a Palm Sunday march through the streets of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on March 29, 2026. The rally was one of about 30 events across 16 states. Image from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

United Methodists put faith into action on Palm Sunday
Social Concerns
Filipino United Methodists in the Davao Episcopal Area participated in a four-day United Methodist Board of Global Ministries EarthKeepers training on climate change and environmental conservation. Image from video by Touch Barrientos, Kyla Ragasa, DEA Communications, and Matthan Bang-Asan.

EarthKeepers promote creation care in the Philippines
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