UM News Digest - June 16, 2025

UM News Digest - June 16, 2025

Helping Ukrainian refugees make new homes
Bishop calls for prayer after assassination
Fresh Expression makes room at crowded table

“Even if the intensity of the commitment to the people who have fled from Ukraine is decreasing, it must be emphasized that support for them and our commitment are still necessary.” — Szarlota Kamińska, coordinator of refugee work in Poland.

Ukrainian children perform during a festival in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. United Methodists in Romania and other neighboring countries continue to provide support for Ukrainian refugees more than three years after Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine. Photo by Aaron Roberts, ALR Photography.

Helping Ukrainian refugees make new homes
ZURICH (UM News) — Art and music programs for children, language courses and rehabilitation retreats are among the assistance being provided to Ukrainians by nearby nations, many times facilitated by United Methodist churches and individuals. Relief efforts have shifted from emergency support to helping the victims of the Russian war get comfortable in their new homes. Urs Schweizer has the story.

Read story

Minnesota Conference
Bishop calls for prayer after assassination
MINNEAPOLIS — Dakotas-Minnesota Area Bishop Lanette Plambeck issued a pastoral letter June 14 calling for prayer after shootings that killed a Minnesota state representative and her husband and injured a state senator and his wife. Law enforcement say the attacks were politically motivated violence. The suspect in the attacks was arrested June 15.
Read bishop’s letter
The Associated Press: Suspect in lawmakers’ shootings in custody

Western Jurisdiction, Desert Southwest Conference
Bishops, conference speak out for immigrants
LAS VEGAS — In a new video, the five active bishops of the Western Jurisdiction decry the militarized presence and false narratives about immigrants in the Los Angeles area. The Desert Southwest Annual Conference, meeting in Las Vegas, also released a statement titled a “Call to Action: Walking with Migrant Communities Toward Justice and Hope.” Christina Dillabough writes about the video and the statement.
Read story
Watch Western Jurisdiction video
Read “Call to Action” (PDF)

New England Conference
Fresh Expression makes room at crowded table
HARRISON, Maine — There is always room at the table. That’s the motto of The Table, a Fresh Expressions ministry of Bolsters Mills United Methodist Church. And there is, indeed, a place for everyone at the weekly free breakfast — but know that you might have to squeeze in because you’ll have plenty of company. The New England Conference has the story.
Read story

United Methodist Communications
Fantastical beasts and where to find them (in the Bible)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Rev. Ryan Dunn offers a biblical exploration of the strange, fantastical and mysterious from Leviathan to unicorns to a talking donkey. In an episode of the “Compass Podcast,” he hopes to inspire curiosity and awe in exploring what strange occurrences in the Bible tell people about the Divine.
Listen to podcast

World Council of Churches
Remembering pioneering Filipino theologian
GENEVA — The World Council of Churches is mourning the death of the Rev. Elizabeth S. Tapia, a pioneering United Methodist theologian from the Philippines. She was the first Asian female theologian to serve as professor of mission and contextual theology at the group’s Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. She was also the first women’s concerns program secretary for the Christian Conference of Asia. She previously served with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Tapia died June 5.
Read remembrance

UM News includes in the Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not UM News staff.

Religion and Race
Ways to observe Juneteenth
WASHINGTON — Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, marks the day in 1865 when African American slaves were informed of their freedom. The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race has some suggestions of ways to mark the occasion. They include supporting Black churches, charities and businesses and listening or reading about the realities African Americans face and the contributions they make to the church, community and world.
Read commentary

The Herald-Times
United Methodists speak up for inclusion, justice
INDIANAPOLIS — More than 90% of voters at the Indiana Annual Conference on June 7 supported a resolution reaffirming the conference’s commitment to ending racism as well as its support for higher-education institutions “facing governmental threats to these commitments.” The Rev. Dr. Philip Amerson, the resolution’s author, writes about how United Methodists are offering an alternative word to the scrutiny United Methodist-related DePauw University and other private universities are facing for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Read commentary

Lydia Patterson Institute
Lydia Patterson seeks help amid visa delays
EL PASO, Texas — On May 27 and 28, the U.S. Department of State paused all new student visa appointments, including some renewals, to implement expanded social media screening. About 40% of students at Lydia Patterson Institute, a United Methodist college-preparatory school, require student visas. The institute shares both its concerns and how it is addressing the delays.
Read press release

Phillips Theological Seminary
Center pairs seminary, annual conference
TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma Conference is teaming up with Phillips Theological Seminary to launch the Center for Black Faith, Leadership and Transformation on its campus. The center is scheduled to debut July 1. It is planned to be a hub for cultivating African American leadership within The United Methodist Church and beyond.
Read press release

Upper New York Conference
Conference donates $20,000 to tornado recovery
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — The Upper New York Conference donated $20,000 to Connected Community Schools to support continued recovery efforts in Rome, New York, following the devastating EF-2 tornado that struck the region last summer. “Thanks to the compassionate giving of our congregations and individuals across Upper New York, we’re able to continue walking alongside communities still recovering from last summer’s disasters,” said Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez.
Read press release