UM News Digest - Oct. 8, 2025

UM News Digest - Oct. 8, 2025

Church tours explore civil rights struggles
Supporting sexual violence survivors in Congo
Responding to mass shooting in Alabama

“The past calls us to question how we truly see and treat people (and) how we continue to need to be transformed today.” — Western Pennsylvania Conference Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, on participating in “A Journey Through the Civil Rights Movement.”

Members of four annual conferences in the U.S. Northeast cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., where police attacked peaceful marchers on March 7, 1965, on what is known as Bloody Sunday. Photo by Jeannie Schott, Western Pennsylvania Conference.

Church tours explore civil rights struggles
PHILADELPHIA (UM News) — United Methodist-sponsored groups are making pilgrimages to iconic sites in America’s civil rights history to promote advocacy against racism and encourage reflection on the ongoing struggles for racial justice. The tours are inspired by the denomination’s Dismantling Racism campaign, launched by the United Methodist Council of Bishops in 2020. John W. Coleman has the story.

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A woman speaks during a dialogue session in Goma, Congo, aimed at helping survivors of sexual violence heal and connect with others facing the same trauma. Photo courtesy of the East Congo Episcopal Area health board.

Supporting sexual violence survivors in Congo
GOMA, Congo (UM News) — As conflict continues to ravage eastern Congo, a humanitarian project of The United Methodist Church is helping to restore hope and dignity to dozens of women who have been victims of sexual violence. Funded by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the ministry provides psychological support and vocational training. Chadrack Tambwe Londe reports.

Read story

Alabama-West Florida Conference
Alabama bishop responds to mass shooting
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, who leads the Alabama-West Florida and North Alabama conferences, is calling for prayer after gun violence ended the lives of at least two people and injured at least 12 others Oct. 4 in downtown Montgomery. “And then, let’s work together in our churches, our neighborhoods, and our communities to do something about the presence of gun violence in our midst,” he writes.
Read bishop’s statement

Church World Service
Group alarmed at effort targeting children
WASHINGTON — Church World Service, a United Methodist-supported partner in refugee resettlement, is raising alarms about the efforts of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to target unaccompanied children. The department has made plans to incentivize minors to waive legal rights guaranteed by U.S. law and self-deport in exchange for a one-time payment of $2,500. The move puts children at further risk of trafficking and other forms of abuse, staff say, and they urge voters to call their lawmakers.
Read statement

Upper New York Conference
Church happens on porch
MIDDLESEX, N.Y. — Pastor J. Lanni has added an informal third point to his two-charge appointment in New York state. It’s the porch of a friend where men meet each Wednesday to hash out questions about life’s struggles and hopes. The group spans generations — including young men in their 20s pursuing sobriety and fathers and brothers reading Scripture side-by-side. Shelby Winchell has the story.
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Northern Illinois Conference
Church, community mourn man killed by ICE
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — About 120 people gathered Sept. 19 at Movement in the City/Franklin Park United Methodist Church to mourn the death of an immigrant from Mexico shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Silverio Villegas Gonzalez was shot to death Sept. 12 just a few blocks from the church. "Silverio's life will not be forgotten," said the Rev. Roberto Moreno, the church’s pastor. Victoria Rebeck has the story.
Read story
NBC: Bodycam videos provide context for shooting

Lewis Center for Church Leadership, Virginia Conference
New Lewis Center director named
WASHINGTON — United Methodist-related Wesley Theological Seminary announces the appointment of the Rev. Jonathan Page as the new director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, a nationally recognized resource for equipping congregations and their leaders in a rapidly changing church landscape. Page began his new role Sept. 15. He most recently served as director for the Virginia Conference’s Office of Connection and Innovation.
Read Lewis Center release
Read Virginia Conference release

South Carolina Conference
United Methodist releases second novel
LEXINGTON, S.C. — A United Methodist journalist has released her second faith-based novel, “Tangled Roots,” a follow-up to the Amazon bestseller “The Memory Garden.” The new book “is centered on the broken relationships we think are irredeemable — yet we have to wrestle with in order to achieve healing and peace,” said author Jessica Brodie, editor-in-chief of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate newspaper. The book is available on Amazon.
Read press release
UM News: Author weaves United Methodism into novel

Methodist Federation for Social Action
Webinar set on Israel and Palestine
WASHINGTON — The advocacy groups United Methodists for Kairos Response and the Methodist Federation for Social Action have scheduled a webinar 1 p.m. U.S. Eastern time Oct. 15 on understanding Israel and Palestine. The speaker will be Phyllis Bennis, an American Jewish writer, political commentator and advocate for Palestinian rights.
Learn more and register