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UM News Digest - June 18, 2025
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“Full circle for him was not only that his ordination would be completed and recognized, but this was also for him a way of saying to the church, ‘I forgive you.’” — Bishop Lanette Plambeck, on the ordination of the Rev. Dr. Rick Huskey in a hospital the day before his death.
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First and second photos courtesy of the Rev. Richard Huskey; third photo courtesy of the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network
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LGBTQ activist ordained on deathbed
DANVILLE, Pa. (UM News) — The Rev. Dr. Richard “Rick” Huskey was finally ordained as a United Methodist elder nearly 50 years after being refused ordination because he was gay. Though confined to a hospital bed, Huskey was aware of what was happening at the June 14 ceremony. The activist for LGBTQ equality “laughed in joy” and said “hallelujah.” He died the following day at age 75. Jim Patterson reports. |
Affirmation at last
CHICAGO (UM News) — The Rev. Dr. Rick Huskey mobilized the pain of exclusion to blaze a trail for LGBTQ United Methodists, says Ophelia Hu Kinney with Reconciling Ministries Network in a reflection. “Rick’s life was a testament not only to perseverance but also to possibility. Justice can take a lifetime, and yet a lifetime is the length of the race before each of us,” she writes. |
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Church leaders pose for a photo during a June 9 vigil outside the Los Angeles federal building to pray for immigrants detained inside. Photo courtesy of California-Pacific Conference.
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United Methodist ministries named in House probe
WASHINGTON (UM News) — The United Methodist Council of Bishops and other church ministries are among 215 groups that received letters from a U.S. congressional committee seeking to know if they used taxpayer dollars to “facilitate illegal immigration.” However, neither the bishops nor the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, another letter recipient, receive any federal funding. Heather Hahn reports. |
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Ask the UMC
Looking at what’s in the ‘Other Resolutions’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — While the “Other Resolutions” section of the Book of Resolutions has doubled in size from the 2016 edition (from 18 to 36 resolutions), only 10 resolutions are new for 2024. Of these, only two address genuinely new territory. But all of them expand the witness of The United Methodist Church. The Rev. Taylor W Burton Edwards offers an analysis in Part 5 of Ask The UMC’s “What’s new in the Book of Resolutions” series.
Read story
Desert Southwest Conference
Conference responds to Southern Baptist action
LAS VEGAS — On June 13, the Desert Southwest Annual Conference adopted a resolution titled, “A Resolution in Response to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Call to Abolish the Right to Gay Marriage.” In the resolution, the United Methodist conference makes clear its commitment to the full inclusion and legal equality of LGBTQ people. Christina Dillabough reports.
Read story
New 2025 annual conference reports posted
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — United Methodist News is posting 2025 annual conference reports. New this week are the Baltimore-Washington, North Carolina, Peninsula-Delaware and South Georgia conferences.
Read reports
No Friday Digest this week
There will be no Friday Digest on June 20 in honor of the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. The Digest will resume June 23. The staff at UM News wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday weekend. |
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| UM News includes in the Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not UM News staff. |
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Speaking truth in memory of Charleston Nine
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Ten years after the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church massacre, the Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr. remembers the congregation’s legacy of faith and resistance from founder Denmark Vesey to Pastor Clementa Pinckney. Weems writes that the tragedy underscores the urgent call for church leaders to reject historical falsehoods, confront racial injustice and speak truth in love.
Read commentary
UM News: United Methodists stand with AME after church shooting |
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Discipleship Ministries
Sharing the Lord’s Table in Congo
KAMINA, Congo — Communion is more than a ritual. It’s a witness to healing, unity and the powerful inclusion of all God's people. The Rev. Betty Kazaki Musau shares Holy Communion practices from the North Katanga Episcopal Area in a resource aimed at prompting small-group discussion. “Communion is for the powerless, the afflicted and the Earth broken by greed, war and injustice,” she writes.
See resource
United Methodist Communications
Webinars offer help with church communications
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Throughout July, the United Methodist Communications ministry MyCom plans to hold a special series of webinars tailored for pastors appointed to new churches — but open to anyone looking to strengthen their communication ministry. These sessions will explore branding, marketing, social media and public relations. The webinars are scheduled at noon U.S. Central time each Wednesday, July 9-30.
Learn more |
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Thursday, June 19 -
Saturday, June 21
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Friday, June 20 -
Sunday, June 22
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Photo by Aaron Roberts, ALR Photography
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Helping Ukrainian refugees make new homes
ZURICH (UM News) — Art and music programs for children, language courses and rehabilitation retreats are among the assistance being provided to Ukrainians by nearby nations, many times facilitated by United Methodist churches and individuals. Relief efforts have shifted from emergency support to helping refugees get comfortable in their new homes. Urs Schweizer has the story.
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Image by Andreas Lischka, courtesy Pixabay
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Bishop calls for prayer after assassination
MINNEAPOLIS — Dakotas-Minnesota Area Bishop Lanette Plambeck issued a pastoral letter June 14 calling for prayer after shootings that killed a Minnesota state representative and her husband and injured a state senator and his wife. Law enforcement say the attacks were politically motivated violence. The suspect in the attacks was arrested June 15.
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United Methodist News is sent by United Methodist Communications
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