NEWS AND FEATURES
United Methodist connection kicks in after Ida
BATON ROUGE, La. (UM News) — The days after Hurricane Ida have brought more reports of damage to United Methodist buildings in Louisiana and the Northeast, but also cheering accounts of the denomination's connectional strength. The Alabama-West Florida Conference sent $100,000 to the Louisiana Conference for relief and recovery. Sam Hodges reports.
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AU student copes with father's death from COVID-19
MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UM News) — Africa University junior Mellan Nyagato would love to go back to the way things were less than two years ago. Before the pandemic, the social work major lived in the AU dorm. Her family included her parents, two younger sisters and an older brother. Today, she and her family are battling grief and worrying about the future in the wake of her father's death from COVID-19. Barbara Dunlap-Berg has the story.
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South Carolina Conference
New confirmation experience launches
LEXINGTON, S.C. — Plans are coming together for a new confirmation experience for United Methodist conferences across the U.S. Southeast. Called Hinton Theotokos Confirmation Retreats, the experience intentionally targets small churches and churches of color. Jessica Brodie has the story.
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Minnesota Conference
Church closing leads to donations
OAKDALE, Minn. — The painful decision to close Silver Lake United Methodist Church is leading to donations to charitable organizations and the establishment of a new house church ministry. The coronavirus pandemic hastened the closing, caused by aging church membership and financial issues. Christa Meland reports.
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Food52.com
Church recipe gets new life on TikTok
GORDON, Neb. — Water pie, a Depression-era recipe featuring water and not much else, is getting renewed attention in today's hard times. A popular TikTok video had a bit of fun with the recipe from "90th Anniversary Cookbook — Women of United Methodist Church, Gordon Nebraska." You may not want to try this one at home. Valerio Farris has the story.
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PRESS RELEASES
Candler School of Theology
New chair honors late faculty member
ATLANTA — The Rev. Donald Allen Harp Jr. is being honored with a chair in his name at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. The O. Wayne Rollins Foundation gave $3 million to fund the chair in biblical studies. Harp, who died in April, was an elder in the North Georgia Conference and for 20 years pastored Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. He also taught at Candler for many years.
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RESOURCES
Cokesbury Kids
Don't let pandemic halt Sunday school
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Five new curriculum options from Cokesbury Kids can keep children learning whether they're doing Sunday school at church or home. With COVID-19 cases on the rise again, the new programs are flexible enough to fit either venue.
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Amplify Media
Examining Jesus' most difficult teachings
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Amy-Jill Levine, New Testament and Jewish studies professor, will discuss with writer Rob Simbeck her new study, "The Difficult Words of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to His Most Perplexing Teachings." The Amplify Live webinar is set for 2 p.m. U.S. Central time Sept. 14.
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