Institute on Religion and Democracy
Melvin Talbert, first United Methodist bishop to officiate same-sex wedding, dead at 89
By Adelle M. Banks — August 8, 2023
(RNS) — Talbert was recognized for his work on racial justice, LGBTQ advocacy and ecumenical cooperation.
First drag queen certified as a candidate for United Methodist ministry ‘speaking in a new way to new people’
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 15, 2021
(RNS) — Isaac Simmons is the first openly gay man to be certified within the Illinois Great Rivers Conference and, as far as anyone can tell, the first drag queen certified in the United Methodist Church.
Can online Communion be a substitute for the real thing?
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — October 10, 2013
(RNS) The idea of online Communion raises fundamental questions about the definition of community, individual participation, the role of tradition and basic theological understandings of the meaning of Communion.
Partisan fighting spells trouble for church insurance under Obamacare
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — August 8, 2013
(RNS) House Republicans have voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare, so observers see little hope of passing a bill to fix a gap in health care reform that poses problems for clergy in church insurance plans.
Former National Council of Churches leader Bob Edgar dead at 69
By Adelle M. Banks — April 23, 2013
(RNS) The Rev. Bob Edgar, a Democratic congressman and United Methodist minister who went on to lead the National Council of Churches through a painful series of restructuring cuts, died suddenly Tuesday at age 69.
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