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Sister Confianza, a member of the Amigas del Señor (Women Friends of the Lord) Monastery in Limón, Honduras, rides her bike through the village alongside a neighbor. Originally from the United States, Sister Confianza founded the monastery with another woman in 2006. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

2025: The year in photos

United Methodists around the world are living into the denomination’s new vision to "love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.” UM News, the denomination's official news service, documented a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.

Editor's Picks

Immigration

Task force responds to growing needs facing immigrants

The United Methodist Immigration Task Force has reorganized and issued an Advent call to the church to welcome and support migrants.

Local Church

Volunteer Kalvin Davis helps a family select a tree from the artificial “tree farm” at Faith Community Church of Coopersville, Michigan, a United Methodist congregation. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Artificial tree farm brings joy to families with special needs

United Methodist ministry provides a unique experience for families living with sensory issues, allergies or physical disabilities.

Evangelism

Edward L. Massaquoi broadcasts on ELUM, The United Methodist Church's radio station in Monrovia, Liberia, in 2017. Massaquoi was among more than 40 communicators from across Africa and the Philippines who gathered Nov. 18-20 for the United Methodist Broadcast Network annual meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, as the network celebrated its 10th anniversary. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Broadcast network marks decade of amplifying Gospel

United Methodist Broadcast Network celebrates growth and achievements at 10-year anniversary gathering.

Latest News

Bishops

Retired Bishop José Gamboa Jr. served as the first resident bishop of the Davao Episcopal Area in the southern Philippines. He died Dec. 22 at age 97. Photo courtesy of Union Theological Seminary Philippines.

Bishop Gamboa remembered as humble shepherd

Bishops

Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton gives the sermon during opening worship for the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Bickerton, who was Council of Bishops president from 2022 to 2024, is among four bishops working with a task force that is examining the workload and number of U.S. bishops with plans to make recommendations that ultimately go before the 2028 General Conference. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Group zeroes in on number, work of US bishops

United Methodist Men

Equipping men in Africa to make disciples

Faith Stories

This year, United Methodists mourned the passing of the bishop behind a popular Bible study, a cowboy turned preacher, the first Native American woman to be a United Methodist elder, and the last surviving World War II flying ace. Candle image by Gerd Altmann, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

2025: Remembering United Methodists of note

Immigration

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

Local Church

Video/photo caption: A display behind Grandville United Methodist Church in Michigan tells the Christmas story in a 15-minute light show set to music with an original soundtrack. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

The Nativity story comes to life in lights

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Local Church

Lisa Bowser (left), lay leader of Marshallton United Methodist Church in West Chester, Pa., speaks with Christian Boehnke as church members Neal Bowser and Jonah Eckert work in the background to renovate a disability access ramp at St. John United Methodist Church in Bridgeton, N.J. St. John is the fifth-oldest historically Native American church in the denomination. The two congregations have been sharing in ministry and fellowship since 2024 as part of Marshallton’s efforts to address racial injustice toward Indigenous people its area. Photo by David Eckert.

Commentaries

Multimedia

Mission and Ministry

Filipino United Methodists living in the United Arab Emirates gather in Dubai for an annual meeting and celebration that included special choir performances and worship. Screenshot from video by the UAE Media Team.

Filipino United Methodists celebrate mission in Middle East

Philippines Regional Conference bishops join church members working abroad in the United Arab Emirates for a time of fellowship and spiritual renewal.

Local Church