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Sister Alegría (right) and Sister Confianza, members of the Amigas del Señor (Women Friends of the Lord) Monastery in Limón, Honduras, pray during evening compline. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

United Methodist nuns blend spiritual traditions

Laywomen Beth Blodgett and Prairie Cutting arrived on the Caribbean coast of Central America nearly two decades ago, determined to start a new spiritual community in a remote corner of Honduras. Paul Jeffrey has their story and photos.

Editor's Picks

General Conference

The Minneapolis Convention Center stands in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. United Methodist organizers plan to make good on the original location of the COVID-delayed 2020 General Conference, choosing Minneapolis as the host city for the next legislative assembly scheduled for May 8-18, 2028. Photo by Dan Anderson, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis. (www.minneapolis.org)

Minneapolis chosen for 2028 General Conference

United Methodist organizers plan to make good on the original location of the COVID-delayed 2020 lawmaking assembly. They also hope to make up the budget deficit from earlier sessions.

Local Church

Members of Los Feliz United Methodist Church in Los Angeles pose for a photo in celebration of 21 new members joining the church on April 21, 2024. The church, led by the Rev. Brian Suk-Boo Lee (seated fourth from right), is experiencing a rebirth with some formerly inactive members returning with their families, revitalizing Sunday school and creating an intergenerational worship environment. File photo courtesy of Los Feliz United Methodist Church.

Los Angeles church sees renewal under new pastor

The Rev. Brian Suk-Boo Lee credits the congregation for rallying and committing to the church’s future, after a period of struggle that included an attempt at disaffiliation.

Bishops

Bishops work to put new vision into action

United Methodist bishops spent much of their spring meeting exploring how they can help fellow churchgoers love boldly, serve joyfully and lead courageously.

Latest News

Disaster Relief

Patrick Abro (left), a United Methodist missionary serving as health operation manager in the Burundi Conference, and the Rev. Cimpaye Valentine (right), Bujumbura District superintendent, hand a bag of rice to flood survivors in Cibitoke, Burundi. With financial support from the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the church helped 140 households affected by severe flooding in the district. Photo by Jérôme Ndayisenga, UM News.

Church supports flood survivors in Burundi

Mission and Ministry

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung (second from left) and leaders from the Ohio Episcopal Area visit Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery on April 23 in Seoul, South Korea, for the unveiling ceremony of a memorial stone honoring missionaries William Scranton, and his mother, Mary Scranton, who are buried in the cemetery. Photo by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim, UM News.

Ohio leaders mark 140 years of Korean mission

Disaster Relief

An uprooted tree lies across a crushed car in the neighborhood of Grace United Methodist Church’s parsonage in St. Louis. United Methodists are responding in Missouri, Kentucky and other states after violent storms tore across the central U.S., leaving at least 28 people dead. Photo by the Rev. Katie Nix, Grace United Methodist Church, courtesy of the Missouri Conference.

Churchgoers respond to deadly US twisters

Disaster Relief

Children and adults cross a mud-filled street in Kasaba, Congo, where flooding has killed at least 110 people, including five United Methodists, and destroyed hundreds of homes. A local United Methodist church was destroyed by floodwaters, affecting some 300 United Methodists. Photo courtesy of the Ecclesiastical District of Fizi.

Church members among dead in Congo floods

Local Church

Unhoused women wait for the doors to open on the morning of March 28 at First United Methodist Church of Austin, Texas. Each Friday, the women are able to get showers, pick out new clothing from donations the church has collected, have a meal or enjoy the luxury of sleeping in a safe environment. Once a month, they can get their hair washed, cut and styled. Photo by Andrea Turner, UM News.

Church provides pampering for unhoused women

Violence

Hundreds of members of the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women march in Gaborone, Botswana, wearing black in solidarity with victims and survivors of gender-based violence. The issue dominated conversations at the group’s Southern and East Africa seminar held April 3-6 in the country’s capital. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah, UM News.

African women speak against gender violence

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Local Church

The Rev. Cathy Stone (right), associate pastor of First United Methodist Church of Austin, chats with a volunteer March 28 at the church. Stone is the driving force behind the church’s efforts to cater to the needs of unhoused people. Each Friday, volunteers provide women with food and pampering. Photo by Andrea Turner, UM News.

Pastor finds contentment serving the unhoused

Evangelism

Members of United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines participate in worship during a three-day workshop. Photo from video by Kyla Ragasa

Pananaw workshop teaches critical thinking for Filipino Youth

Social Concerns

Council of President Tracy S. Malone (center), who also leads the Indiana Conference, addresses her fellow bishops and those watching on livestream on May 2, final day of the Council of Bishops 2025 spring meeting in Chicago. The bishops released a statement late that day trying to ease concerns about a Judicial Council ruling on same-sex weddings. Sitting beside Malone, from left, are Horizon Texas Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., president-designate, and Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, secretary. Holston leads the Alabama-West Florida and North Alabama conferences. Photo by Rick Wolcott, Council of Bishops.

Bishops respond to same-sex wedding ruling

Mission and Ministry

In an effort to combat climate change, participants at the California-Nevada Summit on Fossil Fuel Divestment approved a resolution recommending halting fossil-fuel related investments. “We agree that fossil fuels continue to drive climate change and that their production and usage harms the planet, especially poor and minority communities and countries,” the statement reads. The resolution now goes before annual conference voters. Image by Ralf Vetterlem, courtesy of Pixabay.

Conference moves toward fossil-fuel divestment

General Church

Reinstated clergy members the Revs. Beth Stroud (left), Deen Thompson and Susan Morgan serve communion at a May 1 celebration of full inclusion for LGBTQ persons in The United Methodist Church. The event was at Dallas’ Greenland Hills United Methodist Church. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.

‘World shifted’ with full inclusion

Commentaries

When the shepherd strays: Addiction and clergy wellness

Bishop Julius C. Trimble. Photo by Tessa Tillett for the Indiana Conference.

Love demands compassionate response, prophetic witness

Why our church is in trouble

Anna Riddle. Photo by Heather Gaydeski Photography.

Carrie Parrish's legacy holds lessons for today

The Rev. Dr. Tércio B. Junker Photo courtesy of the Northern Illinois Conference.

In the Wesleys’ footsteps: Reflecting on justice, faith

The Rev. Paul W. Chilcote. Photo courtesy of the author.

A refreshed Wesleyan vision is emerging

The Rev. April Casperson. Courtesy of Otterbein University.

Amendment would make church more open

The Rev. Dr. Jean Claude Masuka Maleka. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Mission can revitalize United Methodism

Multimedia

Evangelism

People gather around a laptop during a “Tell Your Church’s Story” training event for churches in the Rizal Philippines Annual Conference East (RPACE) on March 22. The event was sponsored by the Taytay Philippines Communications team and United Methodist Communications. Image courtesy of the Taytay Philippines Communications team.

Philippines church communicators develop new skills

Filipino communicators are learning new ways to reach people through social media.

Church Growth

The Rev. Alexander von Wascinski receives a blessing from his congregation at Peace Church United Methodist in Munich, Germany. Photo courtesy of Peace Church United Methodist, via Facebook. Facebook.

Peace Church offers ‘home for everyone’

Faith Sharing

Image of John Wesley, founder of Methodism, from the U.S. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News

Social media graphics from UM News

Mission and Ministry

The Rev. John Collett and his wife, Rita Collett, rent a bedroom in their home in Nashville, Tenn., to a college student through a program called Nesterly, Through this intergenerational home sharing, senior citizens can receive rent money and help with home services in exchange for housing young people. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Couple says intergenerational home sharing works

Mission and Ministry

“Hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits.” Books requested by an inmate have been carefully packaged for shipping by Books to Prisons volunteers in Birmingham, Ala. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Ministry sends Books to Prisons

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