Community

United Methodist Melissa Shaneyfelt (left) donated one of her kidneys to Kayla Hogan (right) in June of 2018. They did not know each other until Shaneyfelt read about Hogan's need of a kidney on Facebook. Photo by Mike DuBose, United Methodist Communications

A nudge from God saves a mother

A United Methodist woman says a nudge from God to respond to a Facebook post about a stranger's need for a new kidney led to the life-saving organ donation.

Mission and Ministry

Texas Conference Bishop Scott Jones and the Rev. Jill Daniel (standing with Jones) visit with children and supervisors at the new Methodist Children’s Center in Linden, Texas. Jones has made child welfare a conference priority, and Daniel leads the conference’s effort to plant child care centers in underserved areas. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.

Conference takes on 'child care deserts'

Texas Conference partners with local churches to start child care centers in underserved areas, with a focus on literacy, health and discipleship.

Local Church

Corn is harvested from a field next to New Hope Bethel United Methodist Church outside Leipsic, Ohio, in 2010. Allen T. Stanton, author of “Reclaiming Rural: Building Thriving Rural Congregations,” suggests the church can be a leader in economic and community development. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Don’t count out small, rural churches

While the demise of small, rural churches sometimes seems irreversible as United Methodist faithful grow older, strategies are out there to revitalize these congregations by focusing on what their communities most need.

Evangelism

Beekeeper Jay Williams holds a honeybee queen from one of the hives at Williams Honey Farm in Franklin, Tenn. A worker bee from her hive came out to check on her because she smelled the queen’s pheromone. Williams, a member of Frist United Methodist Church in Franklin, says “When you’re working with these little insects and they are doing all these things, you see all this wonderment. It’s like a tap on the shoulder that, hey, there’s more than you think and celebrate it and tell as many people about it as you can.” Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

How sweet it is: United Methodists and bees

United Methodist apiarists say delving into the complex world of bees has deepened their faith. Find out what a colony of insects can teach us about community and our connection to the divine.

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