UM News Digest - Sept. 11, 2026

UM News Digest - Sept. 11, 2026

Joy in connection | Salvadoran Methodism | Remembering 9/11

Marilee Jensen with Mora United Methodist Church in Minnesota offers communion to residents at The Villages of St. Clare. Pastor Dean Roush and church members visit seven nursing homes in the area on a rotating basis. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Church finds joy in bread, coffee and communion
MORA, Minn. (UM News) — Mora United Methodist Church is finding new ways to take ministry beyond its walls. Through a weekly bread giveaway, coffee and conversation in the community, and worship and communion at local nursing homes, church members are meeting physical and spiritual needs while rediscovering how the Holy Spirit works among them. Lilla Marigza has the story.

Watch video

Bishop Juan de Dios Peña, episcopal leader of the Evangelical Methodist Church of El Salvador, serves Holy Communion during a worship service at the World Methodist Council meeting held Aug. 12-16 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Photo courtesy of the Evangelical Methodist Church of El Salvador.

Bishop Juan de Dios Peña, episcopal leader of the Evangelical Methodist Church of El Salvador, breaks bread during a worship service at the World Methodist Council meeting held Aug. 12-16 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Photo courtesy of the Evangelical Methodist Church of El Salvador.

Meeting puts focus on Salvadoran Methodism
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UM News) — The plenary meeting of the World Methodist Council in El Salvador last month marked a milestone for Methodism in the Central American country. For Bishop Juan de Dios Peña, the gathering strengthened ties between the young Evangelical Methodist Church of El Salvador and the worldwide Methodist community while increasing the church’s visibility. The Rev. Gustavo Vásquez reports.
Read story
UM News: Methodist family spotlights justice, peace, joy

Staten Island Advance/SILive.com
Church member gives back after surviving 9/11
NEW YORK — Lorna Wilson was in her 13th-floor office in the World Trade Center’s North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001. The United Methodist was among the employees who escaped that day as firefighters were rushing in. She promised God that if she survived, she would dedicate her life to serving others. That decision led her to become a Sunday school teacher at Faith United Methodist Church in Staten Island and expand the church’s food pantry. Tracey Porpora reports.
Read story

UM News podcast season coming soon
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — Season one of “Signs of Life,” an original podcast from UM News celebrating how church members are finding unity in diversity, will launch Sept. 28. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is fostering relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was — and is — an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young People’s Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
UMNews.org

Western North Carolina Conference
Pastor’s credentials restored after 32 years
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. — With a heartfelt apology, a wrong was righted during the Western North Carolina Annual Conference in June. Thirty-two years after coming out to the church as gay and surrendering her credentials at the request of her bishop, the Rev. Lauren Grace Scruggs was readmitted into full connection in the conference. Credentials or not, she has devoted her life to serving God and loving her neighbor. Ken Garfield has the story.
Read story

No UM News Digest Sept. 14-16
There will be no UM News Digest on Sept. 14 and 16 so that the UM News team can attend a staff retreat. The Digest will resume on Sept. 18.

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.

The Tribute in Light is an art installation created in remembrance of those who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. Photo courtesy of the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Remembering 9/11 at John Street church
NEW YORK (UM News) — A longtime member and trustee at John Street United Methodist Church looks back on visiting the church in Lower Manhattan on the day of the Sept. 11 attacks. Just two blocks from Ground Zero, the church didn’t have any structural damage but was covered in dust. Jay Cardwell reflects on the way his church and other United Methodists responded. The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and United Methodist Committee on Relief also offer a meditation and prayer marking the 25th anniversary.
Read commentary
See prayer
UM News in 2021: Finding light in the darkness of 9/11
Video: United Methodists recall 9/11 in New York

Council of Bishops, Creation Justice Movement
Bishops work to address climate crisis
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The United Methodist Council of Bishops is taking steps to address the climate crisis in a new training course titled “Speaking Up for Climate Action,” specifically designed for United Methodist episcopal leaders. In doing so, the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement says, the bishops are preparing to take a leadership role in protecting and healing our relationship with God’s good creation.
Read press release
UM News: Bishops prioritize creation care

Native American Inter-Tribal Caucus
Group calls for religious freedom for all
SELBYVILLE, Del. — The Native American Inter-Tribal Caucus, a United Methodist group, says in a statement that religious freedom must also include the traditions of Native peoples. “Religious freedom cannot mean freedom for the majority while Indigenous Peoples must repeatedly defend the legitimacy of ceremonies and spiritual traditions that have survived despite generations of efforts to suppress them,” the statement says.
Read statement (PDF)
Learn more about the Native American Inter-Tribal Caucus

United Methodist Insurance Program
Webinar looks at roofing risks for churches
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Roofs are a frequent source of property claims and can be costly to maintain and replace. Mitch Sack, former director of insurance for the roofing manufacturer GAF, plans to offer tips on controlling costs and dealing with claims at a webinar at 1 p.m. U.S. Central time Sept. 23.
Register