United Methodist News Service – Recent Articles

• Churches improvise as different Holy Week looms
  With COVID-19 restrictions in place, United Methodists will gather online for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter, keeping the faith in ways old and new.
• AU shifts to online classes, some students stay on campus
  The United Methodist university is practicing social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
• Enforced COVID-19 isolation recalls days in prison
  The Rev. Thomas Kim reflects on how the enforced isolation recalls his time in prison. While that isolation is hard to take, he writes that it is nearly impossible to take the racism and xenophobia aimed at Asian Americans.
• Pandemic presents challenge to church giving
  Churches still must collect an offering even when social distancing means they can’t pass the plate. But church leaders also want to be sensitive to the faithful’s own economic needs.
• Voice of Hope radio extends reach in Côte d’Ivoire
  Bishop Boni announced the news of a new frequency in Abengourou during a celebration of the radio station’s 10th anniversary.
• God’s role in times of crisis
  Humanity has never found a good explanation for why there is suffering in the world. Why do so many seem to accept that bad answers are better than no answers?
• Rev. Joseph Lowery, civil rights leader, dead at 98
  The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a United Methodist pastor who walked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died at his home in Atlanta on March 27.
• Lowery celebrates 90 years of blessings
  A Q&A with United Methodist pastor and civil rights icon, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, from 2011. The Rev. Lowery passed away March 27, 2020.
• Wrestling with budget after GC2020 postponed
  Finance leaders decided they had no choice but to extend the 2016 General Conference’s budget directives. But they also recognize the financial challenges caused by COVID-19.
• Podcasts give churches ‘germ-free’ way to minister
  Podcasts have grown in popularity for years, and some United Methodists find them an ideal way to minister when meeting in person isn’t an option.