United Methodist News Service – Recent Articles

• Storm destroys United Methodist school in Burundi
  Founded in 2022, the church school is the only secondary school in the Rubirizi region, home to around 21,000 people.
• West Africa Central Conference Balloting 2024
  Voting has begun in the West Africa Central Conference. UM News is tracking the balloting as it happens and will have coverage as the bishops are elected.
• Confronting hate: What do you wear?
  An encounter with neo-Nazis shows how fear, the need for belonging and distorted views about Christianity form a dangerous mix.
• Pro wrestlers need God, too
  The Rev. Steven Barber has found a unique place to pursue his calling as a United Methodist pastor. He’s made it his business to minister to professional wrestlers who work for small wrestling promotions in Alabama.
• Social media graphics from UM News
  Meme for the second Sunday in Advent is available to download in four languages and share on social media.
• UMCOR assists those most vulnerable after Helene
  Following a natural disaster like Hurricane Helene, some victims can fall through the cracks between social services. In North Carolina, United Methodists have been providing an important safety net.
• Deaconesses are still here – let’s invest in them too!
  A distinctly separate order from deacons, deaconesses and home missioners serve in a wide variety of full-time lay ministries for the church.
• Zimbabwean gets posthumous honorary ordination
  The Rev. Norest M. Nyakudanga became the first lay member in Zimbabwe to be honored with a posthumous ordination for decades of preaching in The United Methodist Church.
• General Conference leaders start afresh
  With mostly new membership, the group that plans The United Methodist Church’s big legislative assembly hopes to turn the page on past mistakes and act with more transparency.
• World AIDS Day call: ‘Put people first’
  At two global AIDS conferences, numerous speakers emphasized that faith communities can play a vital role in combating the stigma attached to the disease.