“He finds a way to align himself and integrate the value of other people's culture and perspectives in his work.” — The Rev. Stephen Handy, pastor of McKendree United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, on the Rev. Giovanni Arroyo.
Asking the hard questions about race
WASHINGTON (UM News) — The Rev. Giovanni Arroyo poses a difficult question to white United Methodists who say they want an end to racism. “Do you want racial justice enough to voluntarily relinquish some of your power?” A native of Puerto Rico, he knows firsthand what it’s like to be a minority in America, and that experience informs the way he pursues his mission as The United Methodist Church’s point person on inclusion. Jim Patterson has the story.
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Listen to Our Conexión podcast with Arroyo on racism and Christianity
South Georgia Conference
Small church gives big for Ukraine
GUYTON, Ga. — Guyton United Methodist Church is a small church with a big heart. The congregation, which averages between 40-50 people a week in worship, recently raised $7,500 to support Ukrainian orphans. Kara Witherow reports.
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Holston Conference
Digging through trash to encourage recycling
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. — It’s not uncommon for the choir director at Trinity United Methodist Church to go digging through the trash. He can’t stand to let recyclable plastic and paper go into the landfill. Warren Clark is just one of many environmental stewards throughout the Holston Conference trying to help their churches make better choices for the good of the Earth. Annette Spence has the story.
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Dakotas Conference
Church's blessing boxes connect community
MINOT, N.D. — Youth director Katie Ramsdell of Vincent United Methodist Church created two blessing boxes stocked with free items including groceries, hygiene and household supplies for anyone to take. Church members have mapped out a plan to keep items in the boxes with a different focus for each day of the week. The Rev. Mark Ehrmantraut said that because of the ministry, “the Holy Spirit is moving and shaking with this congregation and the community.” Doreen Gosmire reports.
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California-Pacific Conference
Bishop Hagiya responds to mass shootings
PASADENA, Calif. — Bishop Grant J. Hagiya, who leads the California-Pacific and Desert Southwest conferences, called for prayer and more action on gun violence after the mass shootings in New York and California. “Find ways to connect with others who want to work toward healing and wholeness for all who suffer,” he wrote.
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UM News: Churches condemn hate, urge action after shootings
Gammon Theological Seminary
Survey seeks Black views on church future
ATLANTA — United Methodist Gammon Theological Seminary is collaborating with several Black United Methodist organizations to understand the perspectives, issues, concerns and hopes of Black clergy and laity about the future of The United Methodist Church. Insights from this research will be shared with United Methodist general agencies and various ministries to amplify the voices of Black United Methodists.
To take survey
UM News: Research shows Black churches’ resilience
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.
Autonomy, international division mark Methodist tradition
ATLANTA (UM News) — The recent move by United Methodists in Bulgaria and Romania to leave the denomination is the latest in a history of separations within the Methodist tradition. The process of international division is likely to be unpredictable, and existing church processes may not be well suited to the purpose, writes the Rev. Dr. David W. Scott. This is the second in an ongoing series of commentaries that Scott will be writing for UM News titled, “Our World, Our Parish.”
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