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UM News is the official news gathering agency of the 13-million member United Methodist Church. Map courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by UM News.

Regionalization gets General Conference go-ahead
General Conference has now passed much of the legislation that aims to give the church’s different geographic regions equal standing in decision-making authority.

Editor's Picks

General Conference
Alejandra Salemi of the Florida Conference helps give the Young People’s Address during the United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., on April 24. She told those gathered that the younger generation is feeling the weight of the emotional, mental and spiritual trauma that comes with separation and disaffiliations. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Young people share fears, hopes for future church
Speaking during the United Methodist General Conference, young delegates affirm that amid the turmoil there is hope for reconciliation and growth.
General Conference
The Rev. Moses Kumar, the top executive of the General Council on Finance and Administration, speaks April 24 during the United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Delegates urged to ‘restart’ church with less
Leaders presented a sober picture of United Methodist finances, including the need to reduce bishops. At the same time, delegates heard hope for the denomination to pivot from church exits to revitalization.
General Church
Bishop L. Jonathan Holston gives the Episcopal Address during the United Methodist General Conference April 24 in Charlotte, N.C. Holston, who leads the South Carolina Conference, encouraged delegates to tune out the noise and focus on God’s work. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Bishop Holston: Become ‘who God needs us to be’
Bishop L. Jonathan Holston of the South Carolina Conference delivered the Council of Bishops’ Episcopal Address to kick off Day 2 of The United Methodist Church’s 2020 General Conference.

Latest News

General Conference
Panelists take part in a briefing for female delegates from outside the U.S. in preparation for the long-delayed United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. From left are Jenn Ferariza Mendes and the Revs. Anne Detain, Hortencia Lange Bacela and Eva Cosme. The briefing was hosted by United Women in Faith and the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ensuring women have voice, vote at General Conference
General Conference
The Rev. Amy Shanholtzer of the West Virginia Conference and Tracy Merck of the Western Pennsylvania Conference pray during opening worship at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

April 23 wrap-up: After years of delay, General Conference begins
General Conference
Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton gives the sermon during opening worship for the postponed 2020 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., on April 23. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Bishop urges ‘spirit of hope’ as General Conference begins
Judicial Council
The Book of Discipline contains the rules that guide The United Methodist Church. The Judicial Council — the denomination’s top court — responded to questions about what General Conference’s delay by four years means for the membership of both agency boards and the church court itself. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Church court's elections up to General Conference
General Conference
Bishop Eduard Khegay speaks on April 21 to the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. Four Eurasian conferences overseen by Khegay want to become autonomous, and the committee approved an enabling petition for that. Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.

Regionalization moves on to full General Conference
Mission and Ministry
On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation to mark Earth Day and to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. Participants included Thomas Elliott (left), a professor at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and Candler students Mary Frances Gaston (center) and Emily McGinn. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Photo essay: Vigil for Creation
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Local Church
Frederick Hyland, Wespath’s managing director of actuarial services, and Kim Olson, director of retirement plans, discuss Wespath’s Compass proposal, a retirement plan for U.S. active clergy that is going before General Conference voters. If passed, the plan would replace the current Clergy Retirement Security Program with a defined-contribution retirement plan. Hyland and Olson were very clear that the new plan will not affect currently retired clergy. Screengrab courtesy of Live from Wespath.

Big changes proposed for clergy retirement
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Evangelism
Christians historically have disagreed on when to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. But efforts continue to get everyone on the same page, especially with an important milestone in global Christianity coming up next year. Original image by TC Perch, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

The calendar controversies behind Easter
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Social Concerns
The organization Rise Up for Life and for Rights, led by United Methodist deaconess Norma P. Dollaga, holds a demonstration advocating for human rights in the Philippines on Valentine’s Day 2019. Dollaga, who has championed the rights of poor and marginalized persons in the Philippines for four decades, has been named the 2024 recipient of the World Methodist Council’s prestigious World Methodist Peace Award. File photo by Paul Jeffrey.

Filipino deaconess receives peace award
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Mission and Ministry
The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee hosted the Breaking Barriers AIDS Conference at First United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C., on April 22, ahead of The United Methodist Church’s General Conference. Participating in the closing service are (from left) Missionary Patrick Abro, Health Operation Manager of the Burundi Annual Conference, Mountain Sky Episcopal Area Bishop Karen Oliveto, the Rev. Sunny Farley, coordinator for the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee, and the Rev. Donald E. Messer, co-chair of the committee. Photo by Christie House, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

AIDS Conference aims to break down barriers
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General Church
United Women in Faith volunteers from the Western North Carolina Conference help to sort and organize crafts brought by central conference delegates to the postponed 2020 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. The goods are for sale at the Worldwide Craft Market, which is open at the Hilton Garden Inn, a block from the Charlotte Convention Center, daily except Sunday. Photo by Patrick Scriven, Pacific Northwest Conference for the Western Jurisdiction.

Global craft market supports delegates, ministries
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Commentaries

The Rev. Dr. Scott Hughes. Photo by Jake Harsh, courtesy of Discipleship Ministries.

Courageous Conversations at General Conference
The Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Photo courtesy of Wesley Theological Seminary.

Revised Social Principles offer new start
Bishop Ernest S. Lyght. Photo courtesy of the Council of Bishops.

Transformative unmasking paves a way forward
Dr. Kent Millard. Photo courtesy of United Theological Seminary.

Please spare Ministerial Education Fund
Christine Schneider. Photo courtesy of the author.

Central conferences already have exit paths
The Rev. Rob Renfroe, president of the unofficial advocacy group Good News. Photo courtesy of Rob Renfroe.

Traditionalist caucus president speaks to criticism
The Rev. Mark R. Holland. Photo courtesy of the author.

Say ‘no’ to disaffiliation petitions
The Rev. Forbes Matonga. Video image by UM News

African regionalization support hardly unanimous
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News From UMC Partners

Faith Stories
April is National Donate Life Month which highlights the urgent, widespread need for lifesaving donations of organs Graphic courtesy of Donate Life America.
April is National Donate Life Month which highlights the urgent, widespread need for lifesaving donations of organs Graphic courtesy of Donate Life America.

Church friendship grows from kidney donation
When Diane Boggess needed a second kidney transplant, her church family at Grove United Methodist Church came to the rescue. After hearing a sermon on sacrificial friendship, church member Susan Parno decided to step up as a donor.

Additional Headlines

Congregations
United Methodist churches in the Washington District help make Easter a little brighter for children in need. Photo courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conference.

Churches join forces to provide Easter baskets
Theology and Education
Desire Niyonkuru prepares for a class in the Styberg Libary at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. Niyonkuru will finish his master’s degree in pastoral care and counseling this spring, thanks in part to financial assistance from a scholarship funded by Michigan United Methodists. Photo courtesy of Sarah Pressley.

Burundi student to be counselor
Local Church
A community dinner church offered by Lawrenceville First United Methodist Church, Cannon United Methodist Church, and the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry is proving to be popular. Photo courtesy of the North Georgia Conference.

Dinner church sets table for broader ministry
Local Church
United Methodist churches in Mitchell, S.D., are working together to serve their community. Photo courtesy of the Dakotas Conference.

Cooperation benefits small churches
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Multimedia

General Conference
Church leaders discuss issues coming to General Conference. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.
Church leaders discuss issues coming to General Conference. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Pre-General Conference Video Resources
Leaders from the United Methodist general agencies talk about each agency’s role in the church and legislation they’ve submitted to be considered by General Conference delegates.

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Faith Sharing
John 20:29. United Methodist News. "The Doubting Thomas" by Leendert van der Cooghen, 1654 / Wikimedia Commons. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media graphics from UM News
Mission and Ministry
Adriano António Paulino (standing) joins in prayer before lunch at the Quéssua Mission in Angola. A feeding program there serves as many as 700 children from nearby villages. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

2023: The year in photos
Church Leadership
The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler (right) speaks with the Rev. Martha Orphe who contracted sarcoidosis from breathing contaminated air while cleaning out dozens of churches after Hurricane Katrina. Zoom video image courtesy of the Rev. Butler via YouTube.

Hollering for Change: Self-care and the “ministry of rest”
Faith Sharing
The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler (top right) speaks with the Revs. Romal Tune, Joe Daniels and Vance P. Ross about fathers and sons in the latest installment of the “Hollering for Change” series. Zoom video image courtesy of the Rev. Butler via YouTube.

Hollering for Change: Why are men discouraged from being vulnerable?
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World Press Freedom Day - Learn More
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Ask The UMC

General Conference
New legislation from GBHEM makes clergy formation more accessible, while a series of proposals from the Alabama-West Florida Conference would give more power to annual conferences in setting clergy standards. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.
New legislation from GBHEM makes clergy formation more accessible, while a series of proposals from the Alabama-West Florida Conference would give more power to annual conferences in setting clergy standards. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Ask the UMC: What's new for GC 2024, Part 3: Clergy Formation
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry wants to improve access for local pastors, and the Alabama-West Florida Conference wants to center the process of clergy formation in each annual conference.

Additional Headlines

Church History
The first woman among the Methodists to graduate from seminary, Anna Oliver advocated for full clergy rights for women. Original image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Ask the UMC: Anna Oliver: Methodist scholar, preacher, and advocate
Worship
« Oremus et pro perfidis Judaeis » Good Friday prayer for the Jews in Latin and French, from a French Catholic Liturgy. Image courtesy of Wikimedia; edited from original.

Ask The UMC: Three ways to avoid anti-Judaism during Holy Week
Theology and Education
Crowds waving palm branches process through the streets of Port-Bouet, Ivory Coast, on Passion/Palm Sunday. This joyful scene is repeated all over the country by Ivorian United Methodists and Catholics. Photo by Isaac Broune, UM News.

Ask the UMC: Why do we observe Passion/Palm Sunday?
General Conference
The proposed budget for 2025-2028 represents the largest cuts for nearly all areas of ministry in the history of The United Methodist Church. What will this mean for the continuing United Methodist Church? Graphic by Laurens Glass, United Methodist Communications.

Ask the UMC: What's New for GC 2024 Part 1: The Budget
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