Church Leadership

Panelists discuss Methodism’s record on race during a livestreamed denominational town hall meeting. The gathering was moderated by Erin Hawkins (bottom right) of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. Panelists included (clockwise from bottom left): Alison Collis Greene, The Revs. Alfred T. Day III, William Bobby McClain and Lisa Dellinger. UM News screenshot via YouTube.

Unsnarling US and church racial history

Town hall explored Methodism’s complicated and sometimes suppressed record on race to help United Methodists turn away from past sins.

Local Church

The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell leads a Bible study at Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston in 2011. Caldwell pleaded guilty in federal court on March 11, 2020, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He has surrendered his clergy credentials but as he awaits sentencing remains on staff at Windsor Village and will preach there occasionally as a lay preacher. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Caldwell still on staff, preaching after guilty plea

Former Houston megachurch pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell awaits sentencing but remains a lay preacher and staff member at Windsor Village United Methodist.

Local Church

Tiffany Nagel Monroe (left) receives the stole of an elder from the Rev. Linda Harker during a service of ordination June 1, 2016, at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, in Oklahoma City. A report by the Ministry Study Commission about the future of the ordination ministry was presented during the pre-General Conference 2020 briefing held Jan. 23-24 in Nashville. File photo by Hugh W. Scott, Oklahoma Conference.

‘Sacred Trust’ report touts local church leadership

United Methodism should consider returning to its roots by relying more on lay people and ordained local ministers, deacons and elders, according to a church report.

General Church

On Jan. 3, a 16-member group of United Methodist bishops and other leaders offered the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation” proposal to preserve The United Methodist Church while allowing for a new traditionalist-minded denomination. UM News reports on the process the group took to arrive at its plan. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Protocol process painful but fruitful

Participants in mediation talk about how agreement was found among markedly different perspectives for the future of The United Methodist Church.

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