By Thomas Ogletree, Special Contributor… As a lifelong United Methodist, an ordained elder in the New York Conference, and a scholar specializing in theological and social ethics, I am profoundly [...]
Read More...UMR Communications, including United Methodist Reporter, to close
May 16, 2013 Posted by 14 Comments
Finding no viable plan for reversing financial losses of recent months, UMR Communications will cease operations on May 31. UMR Communications (UMRC) publishes the United Methodist Reporter in print and digital formats and online, and provides printing and communication services to churches and other nonprofits. The final print Reporter will carry the date June 7, but will be mailed and printed by May 31. The UMRC board reluctantly but unanimously voted this morning to close during a tearful meeting at the nonprofit’s Dallas office. “At one time, our ministry produced nearly [...]
Read More...UMM leaders, citing negative reaction, ask BSA to hold off on gay policy change
February 21, 2013 Posted by 24 Comments
Top leaders of the General Commission on United Methodist Men have written the Boy Scouts of America, citing strong negative response within the denomination to a proposed lifting of the ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. Gilbert Hanke, top executive of United Methodist Men, and Bishop James E. Swanson Jr., UMM president, wrote Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock on Feb. 19, asking that the current restrictive policy be continued indefinitely. “More time is needed for the 50 United Methodist Annual Conferences and the thousands of United Methodist churches to [...]
Read More...Adam Hamilton’s sermon at today’s National Prayer Service
January 22, 2013 Posted by 2 Comments
This is an edited text that the Rev. Adam Hamilton provided the Reporter of the sermon he preached Jan. 22 at the 2013 inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. Mr. Hamilton is senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan. ”Compassion, Vision and Perseverance: Lessons from Moses” Mr. President, Mrs. Obama, Mr. Vice President and Dr. Biden, leaders in government, business and faith, it is a privilege to be with you today, and to offer the Word on the occasion of your second inauguration, Mr. President. [...]
Read More...The challenge of MLK Day
January 21, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Bishop Joseph E. Pennell, Jr., Special Contributor… I was a pastor in Memphis, Tenn., when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. The morning after he was gunned down I marched [...]
Read More...Adam Hamilton to preach at Inaugural Prayer Service on Tuesday
January 18, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
The Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., and an author of popular books on Christian faith, has been chosen to give the sermon at the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service on Tuesday. Follow this link to register for the National Cathedral live video streaming of this service: http://inauguration2013.nationalcathedral.org/wnc/inauguration/ Mr. Hamilton recently was named the Reporter’s 2012 United Methodist of the Year for his contributions as pastor, teacher, denominational leader and author. Reached by email about his inaugural service invitation, Mr. Hamilton said: ”I was really [...]
Read More...Garrett funds chair honoring Bishop Job
January 16, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Retired UM Bishop Rueben P. Job will be the namesake of an endowed chair in spiritual formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. The UM school announced this week that it has reached the $2 million goal needed to fund the chair, one of the first in spiritual formation among Protestant seminaries. “The establishment of the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation affirms Garrett-Evangelical’s deep and abiding commitment to nurture spiritual leaders,” said Garrett President Philip Amerson. Bishop Job is the author or co-author of more than 20 [...]
Read More...Bishop Sally Dyck endorses same-sex marriage proposal in Illinois
January 10, 2013 Posted by 17 Comments
Bishop Sally Dyck of the UMC’s Northern Illinois Conference announced her support Jan. 10 for legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Illinois. “While the United Methodist Church holds that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching,” she wrote to conference members, “it also holds the teaching and a long tradition (albeit a struggle every inch of the way) of civil rights. Marriage equality is a civil rights issue; it provides for all what is afforded to some.” Bishop Dyck noted that she’s not able to perform such a ceremony, or allow clergy [...]
Read More...Notable UM Newsmaker of 2012 – William Lawrence
January 4, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
There are plenty of critics of the Judicial Council’s high-profile decisions in 2012. But nobody can accuse the council of blowing with the prevailing winds, since it overruled majority actions of both General Conference and the South Central Jurisdiction. The Rev. William B. Lawrence led the Judicial Council through much of this tumultuous year, even as he continued his full-time work as dean of Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. For that dual role, he’s a Reporter notable UM newsmaker of the year. The Judicial Council, including Dr. [...]
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Celebrating Lon Morris College: a sermon on Isaiah 51: 1-3
Editor’s Note: The Rev. Ted Campbell preached this sermon Saturday, Jan. 26, at the “final homecoming” for UM-affiliated Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. The venerable two year school filed for bankruptcy last summer after years of deficits, and recently saw its campus auctioned off. Morris, Morris, dear Lon Morris, Surely thou wilt be ever worthy of our homage; Morris, hail to thee! It seems like I’ve lost two mothers in the last couple of years. My biological mother, Lucretia Cammack Campbell, died on September 30, 2011. My alma mater, another [...]
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