"Since we started this project we have never run out of food. This is the work of our hands. As you can see, our field is one of the best. You can compare it to other fields, ours is the best.” — Virginia Biliat on a farming project started by Malawi women.
Small business loans empower Malawi women
NKHAFI, Malawi (UMNS) — Mercy Chikhosi believes in empowering women through small business loans to support their families and communities. Kathy L. Gilbert writes about the women of the Dowa District and Mike DuBose photographs the women and their work.
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First Fijian elder ordained in denomination
BURLINGAME, Calif. — The Rev. Tikiko Namata Lesuma once walked miles across cane fields in his native Fiji to preach as a lay speaker. At the 169th session of the California-Nevada Conference, he became the first Fijian person ordained a United Methodist elder. The conference's Larry R. Hygh Jr. has the story.
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Growing diversity in Irish churches
DUBLIN — An assignment in Ireland led Albert Abbo Wakili, a United Methodist Global Mission Fellow from Nigeria, to a highly diverse Irish Methodist church. “The migration of people from other parts of the world to Ireland has made a significant impact on the church and on Irish Christianity in general,” he writes in New World Outlook magazine.
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Dallas pastor pushes unity after police shootings
DALLAS — A recent event called “Together We Heal” marked the one-year anniversary of the Dallas police shootings. It was part of a series of unity gatherings organized by the Rev. Richie Butler, pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church. Linda Stallard Johnson of the North Texas Conference reports on the event and on how the shootings caused strangers to form a strong bond.
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Call for access to prayer in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (WCC) — For the sake of peace, church leaders in Jerusalem are calling for continued free access to pray, maintaining the historical status quo at al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyard, as well as other holy sites in the city, the World Council of Churches reports. Last week, after three Palestinians and two Israeli police officers were killed in a gun battle in the mosque compound, Israeli police closed and cancelled Friday noon prayers at the mosque.
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Commentary: Hearing a pastor's first-day sermon
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — “I saw a young pastor preach on his first Sunday at his first church, and it made me cry,” Annette Spence writes in a commentary. Spence, editor of the Holston Conference Call, found the sermon by a 27-year-old reminded her of the hope exemplified in a young person who has other options but who chooses to stand up in the church.
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Looking ahead
Here are some of the activities ahead for United Methodists across the connection. If you have a United Methodist event to share, you can add it to the calendar with this submission form.
Monday, July 31-Friday, Aug. 25
Online Lay Servant Workshop: Your Ministry of Leading Worship 101 — This online course will focus on basic understandings of worship, gaining skills for Lay Servants planning and leading worship and fulfilling requirements for Lay Speaker Certification. This class from United Methodist BeADisciple.com is approved by United Methodist Discipleship Ministries as an advanced course in Lay Servant Ministries, and is the “worship” class required for Lay Speaker certification. This course is eligible for 1.0 CEU. Details
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