Ukraine: Support for the Uprooted


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Bishops
The Rev. Knut Refsdal receives the episcopal pin from Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank after being elected a United Methodist bishop on April 4 at the Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Refsdal, a pastor in Norway, was elected on the 26th ballot. Photo by Karl Anders Ellingsen, UM News.

Knut Refsdal elected as bishop

The Rev. Knut Refsdal, a pastor in Norway, was elected a United Methodist bishop on the 26th ballot.
Bishops
Bishop Hans Växby, who served as a beloved leader in the Nordic and Baltic countries for 12 years before leading Eurasia for another seven, passed away on March 30 at age 80. Photo courtesy of the Council of Bishops.

Bishop Växby, post-Cold War leader, dies at 80

United Methodists remember Bishop Hans Växby as a servant leader who helped rebuild the church in Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
General Church
The Rev. Johnsie Whitfield Cogman helps collect the offering during opening worship service of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Fla. Overall giving to denomination-wide ministries was down in 2024, compared to 2023. But the denomination’s financial leaders are hopeful that the significantly smaller budget approved at last year’s General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., will be much more in line with the denomination’s giving capacity. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Giving dips in 2024 ahead of smaller budget

Collections for United Methodist general-church ministries dropped in 2024, but financial leaders expect the denomination’s much smaller budget will better align with giving going forward.

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