Theology and Education

Faith Stories
The Rev. James T. Laney speaks during the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula in Atlanta in 2018. Laney, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea and lifelong advocate for peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, died Aug. 13. He was 98. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Remembering James T. Laney, a lifelong friend to Korea

From a young soldier in postwar Korea to U.S. ambassador during a nuclear crisis, the Rev. James T. Laney devoted much of his life to the Korean people and the pursuit of peace. Laney died Aug. 13 at age 98.
Local Church
Dr. Brett McKinley Pardue. Photo courtesy of the author.

When screens become a theological question

The question isn’t whether a screen belongs in a sanctuary, but whether the sanctuary is helping the people belong to one another in prayer.
Theology and Education
Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel (right center) prays for graduates of The United Methodist Church’s Technical Training Program during a July 1 ceremony in Jalingo, Nigeria, marking the program’s revival after a two-decade hiatus. Seventy-eight trainees graduated the vocational program with skills in electrical installation and welding fabrication. Photo by Joseph Dauda Idris, UM News.

Church relaunches technical training in Nigeria

After a two-decade pause, The United Methodist Church in Nigeria restarted a program that provides vocational training to young people and offers graduates startup money to help launch their own businesses.
Theology and Education
(From left) Francisco Tivane, the Rev. Filibus Bakari Auta, Ibada Hussaini, Fiston Lutuku Okito and Lebon Okito display their certificates following strategic communications training at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The communicators say they will use their enhanced skills to guide their African communities through the challenges of conflict and epidemics. Photo courtesy of Africa University.

Communicators in Africa serve on front lines of crises

Trained in strategic communications by United Methodist Communications and Africa University, eight communicators share how they plan to use their new skills to serve communities facing conflict, disease and misinformation.

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