Mission

In a Nativity scene at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus are depicted being held in a detention center, as a protest of how immigrants are being treated in the United States. “We feel it’s important to depict the parallel of what’s happening in our world with what we understand to have been happening in the biblical story of the birth of Jesus,” said the Rev. Rachel Griffin-Allison, senior pastor of Oak Lawn. Photo courtesy of Oak Lawn United Methodist Church.

Nativity scenes, art spotlight immigration

Some United Methodist churches are reimagining their annual Christmas Nativity displays to protest the federal government’s raids on suspected undocumented immigrants.

Social Concerns

Ola Williams sorts through donated produce at the Willow Community Food Pantry in Willow, Alaska. Williams serves as director of the pantry, a ministry of Willow United Methodist Church. 2023 file photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Mission agency, churches work to fill gaps

The United Methodist Church’s mission agency is stepping up with grants to help fill food pantry shelves. Churches also are striving to support those going without pay during the shutdown.

Social Concerns

Volunteers bag apples at Neighbors Pantry at Anaheim United Methodist Church, about two miles from Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Like food pantries across the U.S., the United Methodist ministry has seen demand rise this year and is bracing for more with the suspension of SNAP benefits. Screengrab courtesy of the California-Pacific Conference via Vimeo by UM News.

Food ministries sound alarm on rising needs

Even before the federal shutdown, United Methodist ministries across the U.S. faced surging demands. With the suspension of federal food assistance, church pantries plan to step up. But they will need help.

Mission and Ministry

Engineer Sabin Mulang, director of the Development and Projects Office for the South Congo and Zambia Episcopal Area, inspects corn crops at an agropastoral site in Kingandu, Congo. Vast fields of corn and soybeans are at the heart of The United Methodist Church’s initiative to combat food dependency in southern Congo. Photo by Christian Kasweka, UM News.

Church farms combat food insecurity in Congo

With financial support from the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative, United Methodists in southern Congo have launched a series of farming projects.

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