Central Conferences

A woman holds an offering plate during a service at Boise United Methodist Church in Boise, Idaho. United Methodist collection rates in 2019 dipped below recent years, but the drop wasn’t as steep as initially projected. Photo courtesy of the Marketing Department, United Methodist Communications.

Church giving overcomes worst fears

Apportionment collection rates in 2019 dipped below recent years, but the drop wasn’t as steep as initially projected.

The Rev. Solomon Rogers speaks to a crowd gathered for a special handoff ceremony Jan. 15 in western Freetown, Sierra Leone. The event marks the end of a seven-year land dispute between The United Methodist Church’s Sierra Leone Conference and neighboring Masantigie community. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UM News.

Sierra Leone church celebrates end of land dispute

Even as United Methodists and the Masantigie community signed a resolution, the Ministry of Lands issued a stern warning about keeping the peace.

General Church

A group appointed to help The United Methodist Church in Germany deal with differences over homosexuality has proposed deleting passages about ordination of LGBTQ clergy and blessing of same-sex marriages from the Book of Discipline during a meeting in Fulda, Germany. Photo by Klaus U. Ruof, Communication UMC Germany.

German church proposes way to preserve connection

German church proposes deleting all Book of Discipline passages about ordination of LGBTQ clergy and blessing of same-sex marriages, while creating an association for those who hold to current bans.

General Church

On Jan. 3, a 16-member group of United Methodist bishops and other leaders offered the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation” proposal to preserve The United Methodist Church while allowing for a new traditionalist-minded denomination. UM News reports on the process the group took to arrive at its plan. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Protocol process painful but fruitful

Participants in mediation talk about how agreement was found among markedly different perspectives for the future of The United Methodist Church.

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