UM News Digest - June 23, 2025

UM News Digest - June 23, 2025

Church embraces its Muslim tenants as neighbors
CrossFit offers lessons for new church
Immigration raid shakes community

“In Islam, we have an open door, just like in Christianity. We feel loved here, and that helps make this a good place to celebrate our faith and to teach our children.” — Ahmad Abdel-Hamid, As-Salaam Islamic Society president.

The Rev. Mark Salvacion (right center), pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Bryn Mawr, Pa., holds the hands of Ahmad Abdel-Hamid, president of As-Salaam Islamic Society, after a fellowship feast March 15 at the church, during the holy month of Ramadan. Photo by John W. Coleman, UM News.

Church embraces its Muslim tenants as neighbors
BRYN MAWR, Pa. (UM News) — St. Luke United Methodist Church near Philadelphia is developing a friendship with Muslim neighbors who use its fellowship hall for Friday prayers, children’s classes and special events. Together they are fulfilling a denominational commitment to bridge the apprehensive divide that exists between many people of the Christian and Islamic faiths. John W. Coleman has the story.

Read story

Missouri Conference
CrossFit offers lessons for new church
WELDON SPRINGS, Mo. — Going to a new gym can be intimidating for anyone. You don’t know what it will be like or what expectations people will have of you. It’s kind of like going to a new church. The Rev. Danny Lybarger and J.T. Young are applying the welcoming attitude they experienced with CrossFit to The Well United Methodist Church, a growing new congregation. Fred Koenig has the story.
Read story

Great Plains Conference
Immigration raid shakes community
OMAHA, Neb. — People were stunned, frightened and isolated in the aftermath of a June 10 immigration raid on Glenn Valley Foods in Nebraska, say two clergymen interviewed in an episode of the podcast “In Layman’s Terms.” United Methodist Pastor Juan Carlos Veloso, who serves a Hispanic church in the area, shares what he encountered that day, and the Rev. Chad Boling talks about his work with a rapid response team.
Listen to podcast

Louisiana Conference
Conference aids Lydia Patterson in crisis
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana United Methodists have announced a $240,000 gift to the Lydia Patterson Institute in response to the visa-delay crisis threatening the United Methodist college-preparatory school in El Paso, Texas. The gift comes after Carla Cardoza, the school’s president, broke down as she informed the Louisiana Annual Conference that the U.S. Consulate had suspended interviews for student visas. Todd Rossnagel has the story and a podcast with Cardoza.
Read story and listen to podcast

WTOV, West Virginia Conference
Churches respond to West Virginia floods
OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. — United Methodists in West Virginia are providing relief after deadly flooding in the state’s Northern Panhandle. Claire O’Neil reports that Valley Grove Methodist Church is collecting supplies. The West Virginia Conference is also coordinating relief and asking for prayers, financial donations and flood buckets.
Read story
Support conference flood relief

Michigan Conference
Vandalism sparks plans for trauma team
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Conference is creating a team focused on developing and curating resources that will aid local church leaders in responding to incidents of trauma in their communities. A recent incident of vandalism at the 2025 Michigan Annual Conference, where the prayer room was vandalized with a racial epithet, reinforced the need for trauma-informed ministry. The Trauma Response Advisory Team will plan responses for acts of terrorism, gun violence, natural disasters, hate crimes, harassment and misconduct of staff. James Deaton reports.
Read story

South Carolina Conference
Conference announces exit-fee distribution
GREENVILLE, S.C. — One year after 112 churches left the South Carolina Conference, United Methodists got to hear where their separation fees will be distributed. The trustees reported that the 2024 separating churches paid $12.1 million in separation fees. Jessica Brodie has the story.
Read story

Cascade United Methodist Church
Atlanta church awards scholarships
ATLANTA — Cascade United Methodist Church on June 8 awarded more than $160,000 in college scholarships. The church approved more than 120 scholarships this year. Church members and other supporters have raised over $3 million since the program started. “We are immensely proud of our scholarship recipients and grateful to all who contribute to this vital mission,” said the Rev. Kevin R. Murriel, senior pastor at Cascade.
Read press release

United Women in Faith
Help UWF with a survey
NEW YORK — United Women in Faith is collecting data with a national survey to help set priorities for planning and programming. The survey, done in partnership with ecoAmerica, takes about five minutes to finish and is open through June 30.
Take survey