News & Info

Rethink Church Bible welcomes seekers

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Giving thanks in Katrina's wake

A UMNS Commentary By Bishop Hope Morgan Ward 1:00 P.M. EST August 24, 2010 Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, left, listens as the Rev. Rachel Benefield-Pfaff shows the high-water mark left by Hurricane Katrina in her home in Gulfport, Miss in this 2005 photo. A UMNS file photo by Woody Woodrick. View in Photo Gallery We have learned to lament. “Mama, how much longer will we have to remember Katrina?” --A child of a United Methodist pastor in Biloxi on Aug. 29, 2006, as ...

Opening doors to people with disabilities

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn* 5:00 P.M. EST August 24, 2010 A UMNS web-only illustration by Kathleen Barry. View in Photo Gallery //--> The United Methodist Church promises “open doors,” but many people with disabilities and their families perceive barriers to full life in the church. The problem is often one of attitude, said the Rev. J. Eric Pridmore, a United Methodist pastor in Mississippi and co-chair of the United...

'Pray 40' urges prayer for students

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - A nationwide prayer campaign for college students and campus ministries, "Pray 40," begins Aug. 23 when United Methodists are asked to pray for students and campus ministries for 40 days. Some 17 million U.S. students head to colleges and universities each autumn, while millions more flood campuses worldwide. The campaign will feature 40 prayers written by students, campus pastors, bishops and church leaders. The Upper Room will publish the prayers....

Agencies receive poor grades on mission

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn 12:00 P.M. EST July 27, 2010 A UMNS photo illustration by Kathleen Barry. United Methodist general agencies rate below average in fulfilling the church’s mission to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” A comprehensive study of church structures also found that agencies often fail to collaborate with each other and their boards are too large and meet too infrequently to provide...

Church must pay attention to numbers

A UMNS Commentary By the Rev. Jason Byassee* 6:00 P.M. EST July 27, 2010 Members of United Church of Rogers Park in Chicago sing with conviction in June 2005. UMNS file photos by Ronny Perry. View in Photo Gallery “It’s easy to get people in the building,” the theology professor opined. “Just put a sign out front announcing, ‘Free Beer!’” The joke, of course, hinges on the obvious fact that a body in a church doesn’t ...

Peace conference focuses on children's issues

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) - The third annual Lake Junaluska Peace Conference, Sept. 18-21, will offer a variety of workshops and presentations that explore social issues facing children. The conference will include a session specifically for children, youth and their adult leaders, led by Jeni Stepanek. Other conference leaders include Marian Wright Edelman and United Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carder. Early registration is available until July 31. Further information is available at...

Do not discard job guarantees

A UMNS Commentary By the Rev. Jim Perry* 9:00 A.M. EST July 9, 2010 The Rev. Katie Menne (center) is ordained during the Minnesota Annual (regional) Conference meeting in Saint Cloud, Minn. A UMNS photo by Jill Shirley, Minnesota Annual Conference. View in Photo Gallery You’ve heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Too often today, we also believe, “If it is broke, throw it away” — when that may not be...

SMU joins coalition to prevent oil spills

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Mission travel study to Haiti in the fall

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Churches mourn dead in boat accident

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn* 6:00 P.M. EST July 9, 2010 Rescuers help retrieve people from an overturned tour boat in the Delaware River. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tim Miller, U.S. Navy. United Methodists in suburban Philadelphia joined Hungarian Christians in grief and prayer after two members of a visiting youth group died in a tour boat accident. Authorities on July 9 recovered the bodies of 16-year-old Dora Schwendtner and 20-year-old ...

United Methodist professors win awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)—Forty professors at United Methodist-related schools, colleges and universities have received the Exemplary Teacher Award from the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. This program, a partnership with United Methodist-related educational institutions, expresses the church's support of and appreciation for outstanding teaching on our campuses. The recipients of the annual award receive a certificate of appreciation and $500. A list of winners is...

Oil Spill touches Louisiana Churches

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom* 2:00 P.M. EST June 9, 2010 Wildlife officers prepare to net an oiled pelican in Barataria Bay, La. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class John Miller, U.S. Coast Guard. View in Photo Gallery The Rev. Kirby Verret is working all sides of the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster that threatens both his small Louisiana church and his community. He is trying to tend to his 178-member Native American United Methodist congregation at Clanton Chapel in...

Gathering to promote disciple-making churches.

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Pension initiative hits $20 million goal

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn* 5:00 P.M. EST June 21, 2010 The Rev. Lovemore Nyanungo of Zimbabwe is struggling to make ends meet in retirement. UMNS file photos by Kathy L. Gilbert. View in Photo Gallery As a United Methodist pastor in Zimbabwe, the Rev. Lovemore Nyanungo often gave whatever extra money he had to the orphans and widows in his community. That left no savings for his retirement. Now after nearly 40 years of ministry, Nyanungo’s only regular...

Immigration policy divides churchgoers

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn and Linda Bloom* 1:30 P.M. EST May 27, 2010 Near Nogales, Ariz., a person walks along a section of the border wall constructed by the U.S. government along the border with Mexico. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey. View in Photo Gallery Mention illegal immigration, and get ready for a debate at Green Valley Community Church in Arizona. The United Methodist congregation, about 40 miles from the Mexican border, includes ranchers who want to...

Colleges train poor to help with oil spill

By Kathy L. Gilbert* 1:30 P.M. EST May 28, 2010 Dark clouds of smoke and fire emerge as oil burns during a controlled fire of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A UMNS photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy/MC2 Justin Stumberg. View in Photo Gallery Not long ago, Freddie Redmond was homeless, living in the streets of Atlanta. Now he spends his days on a beach in Mississippi, part of a team that will be cleaning up after the recent oil spill. And he’s praising...

Study shows high obesity rate for clergy

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom* 2:30 P.M. EST June 1, 2010 A UMNS Web-only photo by Gustavo Andrade, iStock photo. Pastors can never stop at one dessert. Refuse to sample a pie, cake or cookie during a local church potluck and you risk offending a parishioner. That’s some of the anecdotal evidence that Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell has collected as research director of the Clergy Health Initiative, a program of Duke Divinity School. But she also has some hard...

Faith-full Marriage: An Irrevocable Decision

An Interpreter Feature By Susan Passi-Klaus* 6:00 P.M. EST June 1, 2010 The Rev. Sheron and Robert Patterson describe their 26-year marriage as a “partnership.” A Web-only photo courtesy of The Dallas Morning News. View in Photo Gallery //--> He says she's always "on the go." A tad too impractical. And she assumes things she shouldn't. She says he is too quiet. When he does talk, he asks too many penetrating questions. And he won't go shopping for...

Texas clergywoman to lead relief agency

By Linda Bloom* 4:30 P.M. EST April 13, 2010 | STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) Cynthia Harvey, center, joins in reciting a prayer at a 2008 dedication service for a mosquito net distribution in Dabou, Côte d'Ivoire. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose. View in Photo Gallery is included //--> A Texas clergywoman who has helped coordinate the distribution of mosquito nets in Côte d’Ivoire, plan disaster response to Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, and develop a...