The United Methodist Church staggers toward a twice-delayed global legislative conclave that appears likely to split the 12-million-member denomination. The options available to concerned United Methodists are multiplying at the highest levels, but church life differs greatly at the grassroots…
Some Methodist churches finding greater mission results with simplified governance
If there’s an aspect of church life that United Methodists love more than a potluck supper, it’s structure. After all, John Wesley — who imbibed structure as a means of discipleship from his mother, Susanna — founded the Methodist movement…
United Methodists learning more about Christmas Covenant through videos
A tumultuous January is nearing an end, but for many United Methodists the focus is still on Christmas – a proposal for the church’s future named the “Christmas Covenant” that its organizers call “a gift of hope” for the beleaguered…
Visionaries seek new creation from United Methodist chaos
In 1784, the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in the fledgling United States of America at a gathering that became known as the Christmas Conference. This year, The United Methodist Church, descendant of that first denomination, faces a Christmas of…
New denomination declares ‘liberation’ from United Methodist Church
Even before any formal division has been enacted, an ad hoc group of United Methodists say they’ve formed a new denomination based on “radical hospitality” for LGBTQ persons, people of color and anyone who has felt rejected by the church….
2020’s earth-shattering events threaten United Methodist Church’s future
In the movie “Seabiscuit,” an early sequence shows how the fabled racehorse’s owner, Charles Howard, transformed his bicycle-repair business into the San Francisco Bay Area’s most successful automobile dealership in the early age of motoring. Howard met the challenge of…
African bishops demand independence in deciding United Methodist Church’s future
The conflict over acceptance of LGBTQ persons in The United Methodist Church has become a three-way fight — with even more contenders likely waiting to turn the bout into a battle royal between opposing American forces and the rest of…
Bishops issue rare letter urging United Methodists to vote
While still uncertain of their own institutional future, United Methodist leaders recently called on clergy and church members to vote in the 2020 U.S. presidential election in order to “protect democracy.” Although some in pew and pulpit complain that their…
United Methodists seek both separation and unity because of ‘Catholic Spirit’
If United Methodists were transformed into an animal, they no doubt would be Dr. Doolittle’s famous “pushmi-pullyu.” In other words, they’d like to have their future go two ways at once. Today’s United Methodists come by this tendency honestly, because…