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UM News Digest - June 26, 2026
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“The University Senate’s decision is intended to ensure that United Methodist candidates for ministry are formed in settings clearly aligned with United Methodist teachings, theology, leadership and values.” — Roland Fernandes, top executive of Higher Education and Ministry.
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A statue of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, stands in the center of campus at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
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Leaders drop Asbury from approved seminaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — The United Methodist Church’s University Senate has removed Asbury Theological Seminary and Northeastern Seminary from its list of schools that can prepare students for ordination. Among the reasons cited in Asbury’s case is disagreement about the United Methodist Social Principles as well as a lack of a full-time United Methodist faculty member teaching required church coursework. Heather Hahn reports. |
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Rosemary Nyarugwe, the first female principal of The United Methodist Church’s Nyadire College of Education in Zimbabwe, is being remembered as a faithful and dedicated church leader and advocate for education in Africa. Photo by Munyaradzi Matura for TV Ebenezer.
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Head of United Methodist teachers’ college dies
HARARE, Zimbabwe (UM News) — Rosemary Nyarugwe, a United Methodist and principal of the church’s Nyadire College of Education, is being remembered as a renowned educator, a prayerful widow who inspired and uplifted other women and a hardworking church leader. Eveline Chikwanah has an obituary.
Read obituary |
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United Methodist Committee on Relief
How to help after Venezuelan earthquakes
ATLANTA — The United Methodist Committee on Relief asks for prayer for the people of Venezuela, devasted by two major earthquakes June 24. Venezuelan officials say around 235 people have died and at least 4,300 are injured, with several of the hardest-hit areas not yet searched. The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and UMCOR stand ready to respond to the catastrophe through support to our humanitarian and ecumenical partners in Venezuela and Latin America.
AP: Venezuelans search for survivors
Donate to UMCOR International Disaster Response
United Women in Faith
Women’s Methodist mags have a long history
NEW YORK — As response magazine marks nearly a half a century of history, it’s a good time to remember the publications geared toward Methodist women that go back even further. The Methodist Episcopal Church, a forerunner of The United Methodist Church, published the first issue of Heathen Woman’s Friend in June of 1869. This was before women could vote, own property or be ordained. Tara Barnes looks back at the history of publications for women in the denomination and its antecedents.
Read story |
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Kentucky Conference
Campaign approved to rebuild camp lodge
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Less than a year after a fire destroyed the Opie Smith Lodge, the Kentucky Annual Conference overwhelmingly approved a conference-wide capital campaign to raise the final $1.1 million needed to build a new lodge at Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Center. The approval came during a presentation that celebrated both Aldersgate's rich history and its hopeful future. The Kentucky Conference has the story.
Read story
Learn more
New 2026 annual conference reports posted
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — United Methodist News is posting 2026 annual conference reports. New this week are the Holston, Louisiana, Mississippi, Mountain Sky, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Tennessee-Western Kentucky, Virginia, Western Pennsylvania and West Ohio conferences.
Read reports |
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New England Conference
Conference returns site to indigenous tribe
METHUEN, Mass. — The New England Conference plans to celebrate June 27 the restitution of its Covenant Hills Camp property in Cabot, Vermont, to the descendants of the original inhabitants of the land, the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk-Abenaki Nation. Conference members will welcome tribal members, campsite partners in the United Church of Christ and other guests for worship, a picnic and tour starting at 11 a.m. U.S. Eastern time.
Read press release (PDF)
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| 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. |
Florida Conference
Bishop calls for care of people fleeing danger
LAKELAND, Fla. — This week, many United Methodists celebrate the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. At the same time, they grieve that the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip Temporary Protected Status from Haitians and Syrians who have fled danger and who have lived and worked legally in the U.S. “It is my hope that our churches will act in ways that will enable those who now face the possibility of deportation to know that they are not forgotten and are not alone,” writes Florida Conference Bishop Tom Berlin.
Read pastoral letter |
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Baltimore-Washington Conference
Strawbridge Shrine hosts 250th celebration
NEW WINDSOR, Md. — Strawbridge Shrine, the colonial home and farmhouse where American Methodism began, plans to host a day of celebration and offer a peek at 1760s farm life to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. Festivities are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 11. The free gathering plans to feature colonial cooking demonstrations, living-history portrayals, live period music, games for children and a dedication of a Liberty Tree.
Learn more
UMC.org: Favorite United Methodist landmarks |
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Photo by Juma Denis Daniel, UM News
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Church uses soccer to ‘kick out HIV’
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From dumpsite to determination
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