Daily Digest: July 31, 2014

“My vision has been expanded.” – The Rev. Ricardo Aldana Mogollon, a Methodist pastor from Cartagena, Colombia, participating in classes at Perkins School of Theology.

United Methodists to join White House protest
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — Bishop Minerva Carcaño will lead a group of United Methodists from a number of states as they join with more than 100 faith leaders and immigration activists today in an act of civil disobedience in front of the White House to demand President Barack Obama end “inhumane” immigration enforcement policies. United Methodist News Service will report on the demonstration, which begins with prayer at noon ET. The Board of Church and Society will be providing live streaming at umc-gbcs.org/calendar/live-streaming.

Seminary welcomes Mexican, Colombian pastors
DALLAS (UMNS) — This summer, some Methodist pastors from Colombia and Mexico have engaged in distance learning the old-fashioned way — traveling to Dallas for classes at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology.

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Freedom School leads to fulfillment of dream
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Dorothy V. Smith’s experience at a Freedom School in 1964 led to her determination “to become a teacher who taught black students about our history.” Smith is a dean at United Methodist-related Dillard University in New Orleans.

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Group to bishops: Enforce rules on homosexuality
DALLAS (UMNS) — A group of more than 100 pastors and laypeople is asking United Methodist bishops to enforce and publicly support church law restrictions against same-sex marriage but stopped short of calling for amicable separation after a July 18 meeting in Atlanta. The group also has set up a website.

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Liberia declares national emergency on Ebola
MONROVIA, Liberia (UMNS) — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a prominent United Methodist, is now heading the task force for the fight against the Ebola virus, which she has declared a national emergency. E. Julu Swen of the Liberia Annual (regional) Conference has the story.

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Milestones for Imagine No Malaria
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has raised more than $62 million toward its $75 million goal for the Imagine No Malaria initiative, with annual (regional) conferences providing much of the momentum.

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Apply for Social Principles consultations
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — Want to have a say in refining The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles? The United Methodist Board of Church and Society is seeking applicants to participate in consultations to consider a process to make the principles more succinct, theological and globally relevant. Seven consultations have been planned: five in central conferences around the globe and two in the United States.

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Read about effort to make Social Principles more global

Students flock to Life After School Summit
TAYLORS, S.C. (UMNS) — For the past decade, St. Mark United Methodist Church has sponsored an annual education program about scholarships and college testing requirements for students and their family members from the congregation. This year, the Life After School Summit was opened to anyone in the community.

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