UM News Digest - Aug. 17, 2026

UM News Digest - Aug. 17, 2026

Remembering James T. Laney | Screens in sanctuaries | Children’s activity

“In different eras and different roles, he remained steadfast in his commitment to peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.” — The Rev. Hwa-Young Chong, on the late Rev. James T. Laney.

The Rev. James T. Laney speaks during the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula in Atlanta in 2018. Laney, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea and lifelong advocate for peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, died Aug. 13. He was 98. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

The Rev. James T. Laney speaks during the Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula in Atlanta in 2018. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Remembering James T. Laney, a lifelong friend to Korea
ATLANTA (UM News) — From a young soldier in postwar Korea to U.S. ambassador during a nuclear crisis, the Rev. James T. Laney devoted much of his life to the Korean people and the pursuit of peace. Laney, president emeritus of Emory University and former dean of Candler School of Theology, died Aug. 13 at age 98. The Rev. Thomas E. Kim has a remembrance.

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Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
Church hosts STEM boot camp
PHILADELPHIA — Children learned about semiconductor design and microchip programming at a three-day boot camp run by the Pressley STEM Foundation at its Satellite Lab at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. The program reflects Mt. Zion’s commitment to serving as a spiritual home and a community innovation hub, expanding educational equity and empowering youth with skills that prepare them for future careers. Carolyn Pressley, lay leader of Mt. Zion and founder of the initiative, has the story.
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Global Ministries
Initiative supports breastfeeding in Africa
ATLANTA — Improving nutrition for pregnant women and mothers in Africa so that they can successfully and exclusively breastfeed their newborns for six full months is the goal of new joint program of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. The initiative links the efforts of the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative and the Mother, Newborn and Child programming of United Methodist Church health boards. Christie R. House has the story.
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South Georgia Conference
What Chinese neighbors taught a Georgia church
STATESBORO, Ga. — Pittman Park United Methodist Church’s Chinese ministry did not begin with an outreach campaign or a strategic plan. It began with a mother and her teenage twins willing to visit the church and congregants willing to extend welcome. The Rev. Stephanie Smith, an associate pastor at Pittman Park, reports.
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Great Plains Conference
Celebrating 50 years of TV ministry
WICHITA, Kan. — When Wichita First United Methodist Church debuted its Sunday morning services on local television 50 years ago, “Happy Days” and “Laverne & Shirley” were topping the prime-time ratings. While the Fonz and friends have gone to rerun heaven, Wichita First’s services have been going strong, live for a half-century. The milestone was celebrated during Aug. 9 services. David Burke has the story.
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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.

When screens become a theological question
RALEIGH, N.C. (UM News) — An aesthetic objection to adding a large screen in a sanctuary became a theological question about how worship spaces distribute attention, ease and participation. The question isn’t whether a screen belongs in a sanctuary, but whether the sanctuary is helping the people belong to one another in prayer, writes Dr. Brett McKinley Pardue, resident theologian and organist at North Raleigh United Methodist Church.
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United Methodist Communications
Asking kids what they love about church
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Children are invited to share what their local United Methodist church means to them. As part of a brand messaging initiative, United Methodist Communications is listening for insights from across the connection, and that includes the church’s youngest voices. An activity sheet, submission instructions and resources to share the message with your church family are available at ResourceUMC.org.
See resources