UM News Digest - Oct. 6, 2025

UM News Digest - Oct. 6, 2025

Comics and theology — a match made in heaven?
Feeding campus through meals, ministry
Christ Cartel offers healing to Latina women

“I remember putting on blankets and running around pretending I was Robin.” — The Rev. Jonathan Brown, founder of the Comics X Theology book club.

Members of the Comics X Theology book club discuss the graphic novel “Persepolis” on Aug. 31 at Fantom Comics in Washington, D.C. Organized by a United Methodist pastor, the book club meets once a month to discuss a comic and how its story relates to religious issues. Photo by Jim Patterson, UM News.

Members of the Comics X Theology book club discuss the graphic novel “Persepolis” on Aug. 31 at Fantom Comics in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jim Patterson, UM News.

Comics and theology — a match made in heaven?
WASHINGTON (UM News) — There are many paths to faith, and one of them may be a cluttered comic bookstore in the District of Columbia. The Comics X Theology book club meets there once a month to discuss how faith and comic book storytelling intermingle. The group was founded by the Rev. Jonathan Brown, a comic fan and associate pastor at Foundry United Methodist Church. Jim Patterson reports.

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California-PacificConference
Feeding campus through meals, ministry
LOS ANGELES — Students at the 580 Café at UCLA want you to know that it’s more than a place to get a hot meal, box of groceries or a bag of pantry staples. The 580 Café, led by Deaconess Jeanne Roe Smith and supported by a couple dozen interns and student volunteers, addresses both spiritual and physical hunger. Alyssa Fisher has the story.
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Mississippi Conference
Christ Cartel offers healing to Latina women
NEW ALBANY, Miss. — The Christ Cartel, or Cartel de Christo, is a new United Methodist Latina women’s ministry in North Mississippi. Although the word “cartel” is often used in connection with organized crime, the Christ Cartel aims to be a positive and godly representation of the word. Matthew Johnson has the story. Kayra Johnson also has a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
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Celebrating Hispanic/Latino presence

Greater New Jersey Conference
Still helping after Hurricane Ida’s wreckage
NEPTUNE, N.J. — A team of 13 volunteers from the Greater New Jersey Conference deployed to the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference to assist communities still recovering from Hurricane Ida — four years after the devastating storm. The group spent the day working on homes that had been severely affected by flooding. The Rev. Cricket Denton, disaster response coordinator, has the story.
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Church and Society
DC bishop discusses political landscape
WASHINGTON — In an episode of the “Justice Takes Courage Podcast,” host Bishop Julius C. Trimble and guest Bishop LaTrelle M. Easterling talk about the challenges of today’s political landscape. They discuss moving beyond prayer to action, giving voice to issues that touch their communities and sustaining justice work over the long haul. Easterling leads the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware conferences.
Listen to podcast

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Seminary announces campus move
EVANSTON, Ill. — Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary has announced its plans to relocate to new buildings on the campus of Northwestern University. The campus relocation, planned for Fall 2027, will enable the United Methodist seminary to serve a growing and increasingly global student body through flexible learning pathways and to improve residential education.
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Global Ministries
Apply for Global Mission Fellows program
ATLANTA — Applications for the 2026-2028 cohort of Global Mission Fellows are being accepted until Jan. 14. The program places young adults, ages 20-30, in social justice ministries for two years of service. Fellows work to address deep-rooted systems of injustice in regions such as Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America with a focus on food insecurity, migration/immigration, education, poverty, peace, health and more.
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Higher Education Foundation
Foundation seeks new chief executive
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation is seeking an inspiring and faith-centered leader to serve as its next president and chief executive officer. Since 1965, the foundation has provided more than $2 million annually in scholarships to students attending United Methodist-related colleges, universities and seminaries.
Learn more and apply