Advocating for Justice

The Rev. Rudy Rasmus, senior pastor at St. John’s Downtown Church in Houston and editor of the book “I’m Black. I’m Christian. I’m Methodist,” attends a food bank event with the singer Beyoncé, who grew up in that church. Photo courtesy of St. John’s Downtown Church in Houston.

Black United Methodists want changes

Black United Methodists are pushing for change in the denomination, and they aren’t interested in waiting much longer, according to a new book of essays.

Local Church

The Rev. William Bobby McClain speaks during the 2019 meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal in Atlanta. McClain, an original board member of the church's African-American caucus and professor emeritus at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, died Nov. 18. He was 82. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

McClain, theologian and civil rights leader, dies at 82

The Rev. William Bobby McClain, a civil rights leader and one of the founders of The United Methodist Church’s black caucus, died at 82.

Social Concerns

Members and supporters of the Coalition of Immokalee (Fla.) Workers pray in Nashville, Tenn., at the conclusion of a protest against the Publix supermarket chain's refusal to join a farm workers' rights labor program. The Book of Resolutions of the United Methodist Church demands that employers "treat farm workers and their families with dignity and respect.” Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ask The UMC: Does the church support workers' rights?

The United Methodist Church supports workers' rights in a heritage that goes back to early Methodism in England.

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