The Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church has proposed changing its minimum standards for clergy to discourage people over 45 from becoming candidates for ordained ministry. The conference’s board [...]
Read More...Two United Methodists recognized by White House as `Champions of Change’ for solar project
April 4, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Two United Methodists have taken an idea for bringing light to people living in darkness from their church altar to the White House in less than a year. Doug McNeil [...]
Read More...Rehabilitating the reputation of Mary Magdalene
March 28, 2013 Posted by 3 Comments
You’ve got to feel bad for Mary Magdalene. Sure, she has fame many of today’s celebrities would envy. She’s played a leading role in works ranging from Renaissance paintings to [...]
Read More...Church: No weddings till UMC changes homosexuality stand
March 19, 2013 Posted by 2 Comments
Leaders of a United Methodist congregation in Winston-Salem, N.C., have decided not to hold weddings in the church building until the denomination lifts its ban on same-sex marriage. Green Street [...]
Read More...How churches can play role in dating, marriage
March 5, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Matthew Oates and Jennifer Dobbs were born a few months apart in the same hospital. They grew up a few miles apart in southern Indiana; they even went to the same orthodontist. But they never met. They both attended Purdue University from 1996 to 2000, and while there, were involved in various United Methodist ministries. But they never met. It was only after Mr. Oates had been a member for seven years of Trinity United Methodist Church in Lafayette, Ind., that one day Ms. Dobbs showed up as a [...]
Read More...Denomination urged to trust, share leadership
February 18, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Don’t be surprised if you hear church leaders use the phrase “adaptive leadership” multiple times during the next four years. That phrase served as the recurring theme of the 2013 Quadrennial Training Event, which drew nearly 1,000 United Methodists to the Gaylord Opryland resort in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 17-20. Put another way, the gathering attracted almost as many people as were delegates at last year’s General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly. Since 2005, the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship has sponsored the event every four years for annual [...]
Read More...Couples share how ‘Methodist destiny’ brought them together
February 14, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Matthew Oates and Jennifer Dobbs were born a few months apart in the same hospital. They grew up a few miles apart in southern Indiana; they even went to the [...]
Read More...Still there, UM Connectional Table starts anew
February 8, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
The new Connectional Table—a United Methodist governing body that had expected to be defunct by now—met to organize for the next four years. The gathering Jan. 15-17 in Nashville, Tenn., set the tone for the denomination’s leadership for the next four years and may have offered a prelude to proposals that will go before the next General Conference in 2016. The 59-member Connectional Table is where the denomination’s ministry and money come together. It coordinates the United Methodist Church’s mission, ministry and resources. The Connectional Table also spearheaded legislation at [...]
Read More...UM agency leaders welcome news that Boy Scouts may end ban on gay scouts, leaders
January 29, 2013 Posted by 3 Comments
Editor’s note: At the bottom of this story is a further statement issued Jan. 31 by Gilbert Hanke of United Methodist Men. Leaders of two United Methodist agencies — United Methodist Men and United Methodist Board of Church and Society — welcomed news that the Boy Scouts of America is considering ending its decades-long ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. The proposed change would remove a national membership requirement dealing with sexual orientation and allow local charter organizations to decide. NBC News reports that the Boy Scouts of America [...]
Read More...Leaders: Ethnic diversity critical to church future
December 21, 2012 Posted by 1 Comment
CHICAGO—Just about everyone agrees that the United Methodist Church needs to draw more people and younger people to reverse decades of declining membership in the United States. Add to the list the need to bring more people of color into the United Methodist fold. That was an overarching theme of a Nov. 29-Dec. 1 meeting hosted by the United Methodist General Commission on Religion and Race. The gathering, called “Appreciative Inquiry Summit: Changing the Conversation on Race in the UMC,” brought together about 110 clergy and lay people to exchange [...]
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