“Joey went back to college at the age of 44 and played football on the school team with his son, Kyle.” — The Rev. Gary Morse, speaking of his church’s lay leader.
Church lay leader’s story goes Hollywood
JACKSON, Tenn. (UMNS) — Joey Williams, lay leader at Lambuth Memorial United Methodist Church, made headlines when he went back to college and ended up playing football alongside his son. Now his inspiring story is set to be made into a movie starring Kevin James. Lane Gardner Camp reports for the Memphis Conference.
Zimbabwe churchgoers pledge to fight child abuse
HARARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has become the second church after the Salvation Army to implement a Child Protection Policy in the country under the Zimbabwe Council of Churches. The policy seeks to protect children against all forms of abuse and exploitation. Kudzai Chingwe has the story.
Women by the numbers at GC2016
CHICAGO (UMNS) — A total of 864 delegates will meet for General Conference on May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. Their task will be to revise church laws, adopt new ones and approve plans and budgets for churchwide programs. Of those delegates, 311 are women. As part of its monitoring responsibilities, the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women digs into the numbers.
Read story about central conferences
Read story about U.S. jurisdictions
Professor scores with ‘Sports and Spirituality̛̛
DALLAS (UMNS) — The Rev. Mark Stamm, professor of worship at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, is drawing on his theological and baseball expertise in teaching the new course “Sports and Spirituality.” He landed Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister as a guest speaker.
Methodism’s American saint: Bishop Francis Asbury
MADISON, N.J. (UMC.org) — Francis Asbury's efforts helped Methodism become the largest Protestant church body in the United States just 75 years after his death. This video tells his story.
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The Rev. Chappell Temple, lead pastor of Christ Church in Sugar Land, Texas, offers this reflection on Asbury.
‘Vital Conversation’ set on health in Africa
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — Why should United Methodists be concerned about sexual and reproductive health in Africa? Samantha Mukanganise, a public health researcher and graduate of United Methodist-related Africa University, will discuss why as part of an online “Vital Conversation,” hosted by the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. The video is set to begin at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 31.
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.
Tuesday, April 5 and Tuesday, April 12
Webinars “Writing a Safe Sanctuaries Policy, Sessions 1 & 2” ─ Each is at 6 p.m. CDT. These two webinars are designed for congregations that don’t have a written Safe Sanctuaries Policy. They will prepare a core team of four to five individuals to work with the congregation to write a policy that covers children, youth and vulnerable adults, as well as provide information on how to train trustees, teachers, parents and pastors on the implementation of that policy. The webinars’ leader will be Cassandra Negri, a children’s ministry and Safe Sanctuaries consultant for the New York Conference. Details
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