Hispanic

Bishop Rubén Saenz (center) prays for delegates to the annual meeting of the United Methodist Mission in Honduras during the closing session on March 18 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Saenz is the mission’s newly appointed episcopal leader. Photo by the Rev. Gustavo Vasquez, UM News.

Honduras mission welcomes new leader, sets goals

Bishop Rubén Saenz sets a vision for the United Methodist mission at its first annual meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Church

Due to financial constraints and declining demand, the United Methodist Publishing House has announced it will discontinue Korean and Spanish translations of the Book of Discipline unless alternative funding and distribution methods can be found. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Korean, Spanish versions of Discipline halted

Korean and Hispanic/Latino church leaders voice concern about the United Methodist Publishing House’s decision to no longer translate the Book of Discipline due to financial pressures.

Immigration

Victor Lugo, a migrant from Venezuela, talks with two of his granddaughters at CAFEMIN, a migrant shelter in Mexico City. Founded by the Josephine Sisters, a Catholic religious order, the shelter has been overwhelmed in recent months by requests for shelter and other forms of assistance. Lugo, who volunteers in the shelter's kitchen, is traveling with seven family members, including the two girls. They are awaiting an appointment with Mexican immigration officials, hoping for a transit visa that will allow them to proceed further north. Photo by the Rev. Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

As migrant numbers surge, Mexican Methodists offer hospitality

Early last year, church leaders projected a shelter in Apaxco, Mexico, would assist between 100 and 150 migrants per month. By December, the shelter was housing 150 people a night and feeding 600 a day.

Disaster Relief

Bishop Agustín Altamirano Ramos helps deliver emergency supplies to Acapulco, Mexico, where Hurricane Otis struck in October, 2023. At the last minute, the storm intensified to a Category 5 hurricane, a phenomenon observers say results from warmer ocean temperatures and other elements of the climate crisis. Altamirano is bishop of the Mexico Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico. The emergency response of the Methodist Church of Mexico in Acapulco is supported by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Photo by the Rev. Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Mexican Methodists respond to climate crisis

Hurricane Otis devastated Acapulco and surrounding communities on Oct. 25. The disaster is just the latest example of how the climate crisis is pushing congregations throughout Mexico to respond to new pastoral challenges.

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