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Daily Digest - July 29, 2019

NEWS AND FEATURES

Leaders look at options for denomination’s future 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — At a meeting called by Sierra Leone Bishop John K. Yambasu, central conference bishops and church leaders with different viewpoints on the issue of ministry with LGBTQ people discussed finding a new way forward through consensus. Yambasu and others, however, expressed fears that a split is coming. Kathy L. Gilbert reports. 
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Liberian United Methodists protest ritualistic killings
MONROVIA, Liberia (UM News) — The United Methodist Church in Liberia organized a street protest calling on the government to investigate and end ritualistic killings of children. E Julu Swen has the story. 
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Holston Conference
Shades of Grace opens home for sick, homeless

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Daryl had end-stage cirrhosis. Gregg had bone cancer. Both were homeless and had nowhere to go. “Once they are discharged from the hospital, they go out into the streets to die," says the Rev. Will Shewey. Leaders at Shades of Grace United Methodist Church in Kingsport decided to act. In two weeks, they will open a residential facility for men with health issues. Annette Spence has the story.
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Africa University
Mitigating the impact of natural disasters

MUTARE, Zimbabwe — When Tropical Cyclone Idai struck the eastern coast of Africa in March, people knew it was coming but underestimated how destructive it would be. Africa University lecturer Zanelle Furusa and a group of students from the school are studying the reasons for these weather-related disasters and how to minimize the future impact. Calvin Gilbert reports.
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COMMENTARIES
UM News includes in the Daily Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not the UM News staff.

Mainstream UMC
WCA conferences withhold global apportionments

OLATHE, Kan. — The Rev. Mark Holland contends that the U.S. conferences most supportive of the Wesleyan Covenant Association-backed Traditional Plan are also among the most likely to withhold denominational apportionments — payments used to fund United Methodist ministries around the world. 
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Good News
Exclusionary politics and statistics

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The Rev. Thomas Lambrecht writes that it is not disloyalty to the church that causes people to withhold or redirect their giving. Lambrecht, vice president of Good News, argues for a more nuanced analysis. 
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