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Stephen Trowen (S.T.) Nagbe United Methodist Church in Monrovia, Liberia, recently reopened after being closed due to disruptions between current and former church members. The reopening came in the wake of a civil court ruling that affirmed the Liberia Conference as the owner of all properties registered in its name that are under dispute, including churches, schools, health facilities and universities. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News.

United Methodists cheer court win in Liberia

A civil court ruling affirming The United Methodist Church’s Liberia Conference as the sole legal owner of all its properties under dispute is being met with joy and relief.

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Church History

“A boy at Gulfside Waveland, Miss.” is the original description of this undated photo taken at Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Miss. The historic African American camp, founded in 1925, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Photo courtesy of Gulfside Assembly.

Gulfside Assembly 20 years after Katrina

Gulfside Assembly was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the spirit of this special place can still be felt today.

Disaster Relief

Sunlight streams through the stained-glass windows as the choir sings during worship at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in New Orleans in July 2025. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Members rallied to save church after Katrina

Reopening for outdoor services a month after Hurricane Katrina likely kept St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in New Orleans from having to close altogether.

Disaster Relief

E. Dwight Franklin helps with the gutting of his parents’ home in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina. Virginia Tech student Ivy Gorman (background) was part of a team from her school working through the Louisiana United Methodist Storm Recovery Center during their spring vacation. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

Special series: Hope Beyond the Storm

Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina devasted the U.S. Gulf Coast, a team from UM News returns to some of the hard-hit areas to talk with church members who recall the devastation and the power of the United Methodist connection.

Latest News

Social Concerns

Some 40 faith leaders from across Washington, D.C., join Aug. 22 in leading a prayer vigil in the city’s ethnically diverse Columbia Heights neighborhood. The group aimed to present a vision of unity and hope in the face of Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital. At center in the green and white stole is the Rev. Donna Claycomb Sokol, pastor of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, who spoke at the event. Photo by Sharon Groves, the Festival Center.

Churches push back on armed troops in US cities

General Agencies

Shirley Watkins, a member of Travis Park United Methodist Church in San Antonio, Texas, addresses the 90th anniversary celebration of The Upper Room on Aug. 21 at The Loveless Cafe in Nashville, Tenn. Watkins was one of three representatives from Travis Park, where the idea for The Upper Room devotional was born. Photo by Laura Buchanan, UM News.

The Upper Room devotional celebrates 90 years

Disaster Relief

The Rev. J. Andre Wilson (center) shares a message with children during Altadena United Methodist Church’s first Sunday worship service at its new temporary home on the campus of the former First United Methodist Church of San Gabriel, Calif. Altadena is one of two United Methodist churches destroyed by wildfires in January. Photo courtesy of Heather Wilson.

LA-area churches seek to rebuild after fires

Disaster Relief

The Rev. Terry Lynn Hilliard talks about the challenges people in her Mississippi community faced after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hilliard stepped into the role of United Methodist disaster response coordinator for the Mississippi Gulf Coast area and also directed the construction of the volunteer center at Gulfside Assembly. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Disaster coordinator recalls Katrina

Annual Conferences

Dancer Briana Hanson joyfully helps introduce a report from United Women in Faith during the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. After a season of church disaffiliations, United Methodists are moving forward with a new vision, declaring members should “love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously.” The Arkansas and Oklahoma conferences have created ad campaigns to support that work and showcase the denomination’s resiliency and values. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Bold new era declared for church

Faith Stories

Ethiopian Episcopal Church Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana (in black) congratulates 102-year-old Janet Gowe (seated) on the realization of her decades-long dream for a United Methodist church in her farm community of Murewa, Zimbabwe. United Methodist Bishop Gift K. Machinga (left) led the dedication of Hoyuyu United Methodist Church’s Nzira Sanctuary on May 25. At right is Kingston Kajese, Gowe’s son, who spearheaded the construction of the sanctuary. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

102-year-old church planter fulfills sanctuary dream

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Local Church

The Rev. Callie Winn Crawford describes the process of reopening and restoring Rayne United Methodist Church in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, sending the 60-foot steeple crashing through the roof. Crawford said the church hosted volunteer teams for almost three years. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Church’s light shines bright in New Orleans

Evangelism

Danny Dube (left), a regular member of Morning Service in Nyanyadzi, Zimbabwe, talks with the Rev. Godfrey Gaga, Nyanyadzi Circuit pastor-in-charge, after a funeral. The 7 a.m. church service has transformed Dube, who had been known in the community for drinking and causing disturbances. “The circuit is meeting people where they are, offering a safe space for transformation and showing that the church is a place of healing rather than judgment,” says Bishop Gift K. Machinga. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

'Morning Service' revives farming community

Social Concerns

Steven Scheid (left), director of scouting ministry for United Methodist Men, bows his head in prayer Aug. 2 before introducing Roger Krone (right), CEO of Scouting America. Krone spoke Aug. 2 about scouting during the 2025 National Men’s and Scouting Ministry Gathering at Epworth-by-the-Sea, a United Methodist retreat center in St. Simons Island, Ga. Photo by Jim Patterson, UM News.

Scouts, UM Men look to the future

Mission and Ministry

Dr. Sue Berry recalls her service directing a special-needs shelter in Lake Charles, La., in the days following Hurricane Katrina. Berry is a member of Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church in New Orleans. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

New Orleans doctor answers call to serve after hurricane

General Church

Delegates prepare to do their legislative work during the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., in Charlotte, NC. The board of the General Council on Finance and Administration approved a request for $1.5 million to pay for a whole software system to track legislation at General Conference. The current system has been in use for nearly 40 years. Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News.

Big update planned for General Conference tech

Commentaries

Honoring our differences while celebrating unity

Love more, fear less, in cross-cultural ministry

The Rev. Joelle Henneman. Photo courtesy of the author.

Church can be sanctuary for trans lives

Silence is complicity: Responding to racist mascots

The Rev. Christopher P. Momany. Photo by Kristen Schell.

Troubled times call for revival of personalism

Trust clause stands as connectional cornerstone

Hannah Buchanan. Photo courtesy of the author.

United Methodist pastor: I believe Jesus weeps with us

Affirmation at last: Remembering the Rev. Dr. Rick Huskey

Multimedia

Disaster Relief

Members rallied to save church after Katrina

Reopening for outdoor services a month after Hurricane Katrina likely kept St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in New Orleans from having to close altogether.

Church History

Gulfside Assembly 20 years after Katrina

Faith Stories

Youth attending Wilderness Week at Camp Glisson in the summer of 2000 sit on top of the camp van in Dahlonega, Ga. Photo by J. Paul Manion, former Camp Glisson staff photographer.

100 Years of Camp Glisson

Disaster Relief

Atha Brown (left, front) joins with other communion stewards in praise during worship at Hartzell Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Slidell, La. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Hurricane Katrina survivors remember storm

Disaster Relief

Volunteers of Kamuning First UMC prepare meals for evacuees at Bernardo Park evacuation center in Quezon City, Philippines. Photos from Kamuning First UMC Facebook Page.

Churches respond to storms in Philippines

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