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Top Story

Two excerpts from Paragraph 161.G of the United Methodist Social Principles affirm the sacred worth of individuals and the church’s stance that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Debate about church future heats up

United Methodists are gearing up to go in different directions. At the same time, disputes over church rules and the status of LGBTQ people continue to flare.

More Top Stories

General Church

East Congo Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda (center) is surrounded by lay and clerical leaders after his election as provincial president of the Church of Christ in Congo in Maniema. The CCC is a union of 95 Protestant and Evangelical Christian denominations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Judith Osongo, UM News.

Bishop Unda picked to lead ecumenical group

The United Methodist bishop has been elected provincial president of the Church of Christ in Congo of Maniema, a union of 95 Protestant and evangelical Christian denominations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mission and Ministry

Science students and their teacher, Nyashirai Cletus Maruni, celebrate the installation of a new science laboratory at the United Methodist Hanwa Secondary School in Macheke, Zimbabwe. Funds for the laboratory were provided by Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

New science lab grows options for students

United Methodist Hanwa Secondary School gets state-of-the-art science laboratory, new library with help from Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission.

Mission and Ministry

Members of the Glen View Football Academy practice soccer on a makeshift field near Harare, Zimbabwe. They are part of a United Methodist program that reaches out to young addicts and other vulnerable youth to put them on a better path. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah, UM News.

United Methodists help young addicts kick habit

Church couple starts soccer academy in Zimbabwe to help fight drug and substance abuse and to rehabilitate local youth.

Latest News

Theology and Education

James Salley speaks about his vision for Africa University, the United Methodist-related institution in Zimbabwe. Salley was recently named president and chief executive officer of Africa University (Tennessee) Inc. He continues in his role as associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

James Salley on growing tomorrow’s African leaders

Theology and Education

The Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif., faces a court order to sell its Claremont campus to The Claremont Colleges, a neighboring consortium. Given the relatively low price the seminary would get under a 1957 legal agreement that the court found is still valid, the United Methodist seminary is considering appealing or seeking arbitration. Photo courtesy of the Claremont School of Theology.

Claremont School of Theology ordered to sell campus

Bishops

Access to COVID-19 vaccines continues to be a global challenge. The Wesleyan Covenant Association is raising funds to help General Conference delegates in Africa, Eurasia and the Philippines to get the shots. But United Methodist bishops and other church leaders say the plan appears to serve an agenda and not the community as a whole. Coronavirus image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; syringe image by Arek Socha, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Bishops, others denounce WCA’s vaccine plan

Disaster Relief

Typhoon Odette caused massive damage to Surigao City in the northern part of Mindanao in the Philippines in December 2021. With many homes destroyed, people continue sheltering in local churches, day care centers, municipal buildings, schools and sports facilities. Photo courtesy of the Philippine Coast Guard via Wikipedia.

Filipino churches step up after super typhoon

Faith Stories

Jay Weaver, a founding member of popular Christian band Big Daddy Weave and a lifelong United Methodist, passed away from complications of COVID-19 on Jan 2. Photo courtesy of St. Paul United Methodist Church via Facebook.

Remembering Jay Weaver of Big Daddy Weave

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Commentaries

Commentary: Alabama minister ‘never lost himself in the battle’

Clergy morale in today's time

The three churches sharing Immanuel United Methodist Church’s facilities are represented in different languages on the sign in front of the church in Kenosha, Wis. The collaboration is reflected scripturally in the passage from Ecclesiastes 4:12: “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Photo by the Rev. Peter Daekyu Lee.

Bilingual appointments give new life to declining Korean churches

The Rev. Mel West. Photo courtesy of the author.

Trees symbolize a reformed denomination

Pastor Stephen Mannion. Photo courtesy of the author.

5 theses for The United Methodist Church

The Rev. Margret Powell. Photo courtesy of the author

Encountering racism but extending love

Dave Zellner. Photo courtesy of Wespath.

Why does Wespath care about sustainable investing?

The Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Photo courtesy of Wesley Theological Seminary.

Young elder numbers hit record low

Multimedia

Mission and Ministry

Baldwin Israel Avendaño, pastor of Calexico (Calif.) United Methodist Church, describes the two possible routes for buses carrying recently released immigration detainees in Calexico. A right turn onto Paulin Avenue means the migrants will be released into the U.S. while they wait for an immigration hearing. A left turn means they will be deported. Avendaño regularly meets the buses coming from the nearby Imperial Regional Detention Facility to offer help contacting friends and family and to provide travel kits containing food, clothing and snacks for the migrants’ journeys. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

2021: The year in photos

Amid challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainties about the future of the denomination, United Methodists continued to live out their faith and serve their communities in 2021. Photographers from UM News documented a year in the life of the church worldwide.

Social Concerns