If United Methodists are to fulfill the church’s current mission to dismantle racism, then its white members must come to terms with the denomination’s racist history, contends author John Elford. Elford’s conviction spurred him to write Our Hearts Were Strangely…
Clearer picture emerging of UMC’s future
Even before its official year of splintering is completed, United Methodists are carving out a clearer identity for the denomination’s future and a clearer picture is emerging of who has stayed and who has left, about clergy health and the…
Being ‘resilient’ isn’t good enough for climate justice, Malcom urges
“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it,” says a familiar adage. The longtime saying is getting a new, more urgent interpretation from United Methodists, who are acting to create more sustainable futures in the wake of…
Beyond the headlines, United Methodists muster new energy for doing good
Recent news headlines have screamed that The United Methodist Church in the United States has lost one-fifth of its congregations in a split over acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ Christians. What the articles typically don’t tell are the ways in…
Grieving and glimmers of hope mark United Methodist breakup status
When tiny but energetic Bartlett United Methodist Church in central Texas began to talk about the denomination’s split, member Tami Baker said she felt “a sense of dread and then grief as talk of the pending split increased.” Further into…
Providing an alternative to toxic religion
It’s no secret that The United Methodist Church is fracturing, primarily over LGBTQ issues. Thousands of UMC churches already have disaffiliated from the denomination. Large numbers of others are considering doing so before the end of 2023. And many more…
A Methodist church leads an interfaith response to Texas outlet mall shooting
A United Methodist congregation in Allen, Texas, is leading an interfaith response to the May 6 mass shooting at a local outlet mall that ended with eight deaths and multiple injuries. Suncreek United Methodist Church kicked off its interfaith effort,…
A church trial will be better for suspended bishop and the UMC
The protracted investigation of church complaints against The United Methodist Church’s first Latina bishop appears headed to trial. The trial “appears” to proceed because an alternative remains available, a negotiated settlement known as “just resolution” still can be pursued by…
There’s now yet another option for churches leaving the UMC
There’s yet another new option for churches departing The United Methodist Church. But this new model is more complicated — and requires a new vocabulary — than even the UMC or its breakaway group. the Global Methodist Church. Launched by…