Migration

United Methodists in North Carolina and beyond say it’s important for Christians with opposing political views to seek common ground. That’s the idea behind the Western North Carolina Conference’s Purple Church Initiative, which aims to foster dialogue between conservative and progressive church members. Church image by Steven Kyle Adair; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Looking for middle ground in a divisive era

As President Trump returns to office, some United Methodists are preparing to respond to new policies on immigration, while others are hoping common ground is still possible among politically diverse members.

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.

Church Growth

Rosemary Wangechi Mwenja receives donated items at the Tongogara Refugee Camp near Chipinge, Zimbabwe, where United Methodist refugees and asylum seekers have established a preaching point. Mwenja fled tribal violence in Kenya that killed her husband and oldest child. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Church connects communities at refugee camp

Displaced people of different cultures, ethnicities and languages establish a United Methodist preaching point and new sanctuary at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe.

Mission and Ministry

Bishop Daniel O. Lunge, resident bishop of the Central Congo Area, delivers a prayer of dedication at a new United Methodist church in the Nkonko camp for displaced persons in Kananga, Congo. He is surrounded by United Methodist leaders from the Kinshasa District and Kasai Annual Conference. The camp houses Congolese who were expelled from Angola after they fled to that country in 2017 amid insecurity. Photo by Cédrick Okandjo, UM News.

United Methodist church opens in displaced camp

Church leaders say the new church is a symbol of hope for thousands of internally displaced persons living at the camp in Congo.

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