Merged church has passion for social justice
OKLAHOMA CITY (UMNS) — Mosaic United Methodist Church — a new congregation created from two churches that merged to improve their opportunities to serve — this summer celebrated the first anniversary of its ministry. Boyce Bowdon reports on the church, which focuses on inclusivity, diversity and social justice.
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Men’s group, YWCA work to end violence against women
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodist Men and MEND, a Nashville YWCA organization, are collaborating to help men change how they view women and understand how men’s words and behavior often make violence against women and girls seem acceptable. The men’s organization will make “We are the Lions,” a video produced by MEND, available to groups of United Methodist men across the country, including pastors, men’s ministry leaders and Scout leaders.
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House church feeds souls, stomachs
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMC.org) — In 2015, the Rev. Kristofer Roof launched Peace Tree United Methodist with no church building. Instead, there are meet-ups in apartments and restaurants almost every night of the week, with community service as a focus of every gathering. “I really just felt that God was calling me to do something that was ancient but modern. I saw that established, traditional churches were not reaching certain people,” he said.
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Touts for Texas Youth Academy
GEORGETOWN, Texas (UMNS) — The Texas Youth Academy gives selected high school students a chance to live together in intentional Christian community on the campus of United Methodist-related Southwestern University. The Texas Conference Cross Connection newsletter offers participants’ testimonies on how small groups, mission work and other experiences at the academy enriched their lives.
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5 over-the-top ideas for a back-to-school kickoff
MOBILE, Ala. (UMCom) — For teens, there may be no bigger seasonal transition than starting back to school. Jeremy Steele writes that this is the perfect time for a church to plan a fun outreach event. Writing for United Methodist Communications, he offers five ideas.
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Finance agency holds organizing meeting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The new board of the General Council on Finance and Administration elected officers, and the 21 members began their work together July 27-29.
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Looking ahead
Here are some of the activities ahead for United Methodists across the connection. If you have an item to share, email [email protected] and put Digest in the subject line.
Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 15-16
Church security training — Los Altos United Methodist Church, 5950 E. Willow St., Long Beach, California, will host the ALICE Training Institute course that offers survival strategies for violent intruder or active shooter incidents. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. Details
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