UM News Digest - Oct. 12, 2026

UM News Digest - Oct. 12, 2026

Sand Creek healing | Highland Park update | Hurricane Isaias

“What’s been passed on to us and prior generations is the generational traumas and intergenerational traumas.” — Otto Braided Hair of the Northern Cheyenne tribe and a member of the Sand Creek Massacre Interagency Task Force.

Otto Braided Hair, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, shares stories of intergenerational trauma caused by the Sand Creek Massacre during his presentation at the Sand Creek Massacre Interagency Task Force meeting held Sept. 28-29 in Denver. Photo by Crystal Caviness, United Methodist Communications.

Sand Creek healing work moves forward
DENVER (UM News) — Repentance must become action. Healing must involve relationships. Those two messages were among the key takeaways when members of the Sand Creek Massacre Interagency Task Force met Sept. 28-29 for its third annual gathering. The group brings together descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre with United Methodist leaders and agency representatives to advance the denomination’s ongoing commitment to education and accountability. Crystal Caviness has the story.

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UM News: Church forges ties with Sand Creek Massacre descendants

A view of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. Photo courtesy of Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Highland Park proposes leaving denomination
DALLAS (UM News) — Leaders of Highland Park United Methodist Church held a town hall that aired their perspective on the dispute with the Horizon Texas Conference that has landed in civil court. They also shared why they think the Dallas megachurch should break away from The United Methodist Church. The matter is not so simple as a congregational vote. Heather Hahn reports.
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Alabama-West Florida Conference
Help needed after Hurricane Isaias
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias, several United Methodist churches and properties throughout the Alabama-West Florida Conference have experienced significant damage. Volunteers are needed to remove debris, operate heavy equipment and chainsaws and install temporary roof coverings. “Now is the time … to put our faith into action. Whether you can give a day, bring equipment or organize a team from your church, your willingness to serve can make an incredible difference,” the conference said in an update.
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Donate to UMCOR’s U.S. Disaster Response

Council of Bishops
Bishops condemn plan for livestreamed execution
WASHINGTON — The United Methodist Church has long opposed the death penalty. In light of these teachings, the Council of Bishops also opposes the plan to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 at Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base in Texas, in 2009. “Turning the death of a human being into a public broadcast does not honor the victims,” writes Bishop Rubén Saenz Jr., the council’s president. “It coarsens the conscience of a people and contradicts the gospel we proclaim.”
Read statement

Global Ministries, Higher Education and Ministry
Priorities outlined at board meetings
ATLANTA — Roland Fernandes, top executive of the United Methodist boards of Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry, identified three overarching themes shaping the agencies’ work during board meetings held Oct. 6-8. They are responding faithfully to a changing and difficult global context, preparing strategically for future organizational transformation and investing resources where they can create the greatest impact. “Let us not become weary in doing good,” Fernandes said. Susan Clark and Sara Logeman have the story.
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Mississippi Conference
Clergy learn AI techniques
BRANDON, Miss. — Mississippi Conference clergy gathered at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church to learn practical ways their churches can use artificial intelligence in ministry. Jason Moore, author of “AI and the Church: A Clear Guide for the Curious and Courageous,” led the training. Matthew Johnson reports.
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UM News: Summit probes the danger and benefits of AI

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.

Pacific Northwest Conference
Directories, scammers and gift cards, oh my!
DES MOINES, Wash. — Online fraud is a real and growing concern, and the church is not exempt from it. Patrick Scriven, Pacific Northwest Conference director of communications, suggests three practices that can build congregations’ defenses against fraud.
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