United Methodist Church
Bishop responds after former American University chaplain accused of misconduct
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 19, 2021
(RNS) — A former campus minister and university chaplain at American University in Washington, D.C., has surrendered his clergy credentials after he reportedly admitted to allegations of clergy sexual misconduct.
US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools
By Peter Smith — July 23, 2021
(AP) — The discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada have prompted calls for a reckoning over similar schools in the United States.
UMC edges toward historic split over LGBTQ inclusion. This church showed the way.
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 22, 2021
(RNS) — Community of Hope was founded in 1993 as an outreach to ‘people on the margin,’ including LGBTQ people and people living with HIV/AIDS, according to its former pastor.
United Methodist conference seizes church assets in dispute
By Associated Press — July 15, 2021
MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — The North Georgia Conference and the leadership at the conservative Mount Bethel church have been in a dispute for months.
In a new documentary, Will Willimon puts his preaching toolbox to the test
By Yonat Shimron — June 23, 2021
(RNS) — In ‘A Will to Preach,’ one of the most effective preachers in the English-speaking world, according to a Baylor University survey, shows how a master craftsman approaches the task.
Who are the Southern Baptists and why is their 2021 annual meeting so divided?
By Ryan Burge — June 15, 2021
(RNS) — Skirmishes over race and gender pit conservatives against ultraconservatives.
‘Green fluff’ brings the taste of church potlucks home during a pandemic year
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 3, 2021
(RNS) — ‘Like a church lady hug,’ green fluff and its many-hued counterparts have been a church potluck staple for generations.
Liz Cheney, ousted from party leadership, invokes pope and the ‘power of faith’
By Jack Jenkins — May 12, 2021
(RNS) — U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney made appeals to public and personal faith in trying to forestall her removal from House leadership.
United Methodist pastor’s podcast ‘Cross Over Q’ challenges QAnon, comforts its victims
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 4, 2021
(RNS) — In the first episode of his podcast, Vicar Derek Kubilus describes QAnon as ‘the most violent and dangerous Christian heresy to come along this century.’
RNS Weekly News Quiz: April 29, 2021
By Emily Churchill — April 30, 2021
(RNS) — Test your knowledge of current events in the world of religion.
Historic Houston church leaves United Methodist Church over LGBTQ stance
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 29, 2021
(RNS) — Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries, said she believes that the longer the denomination’s General Conference is delayed, the more churches will leave.
Prominent Georgia church leaves United Methodist Church over pastor’s reassignment
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 26, 2021
(RNS) — Mt. Bethel UMC has made clear the root of its conflict with its bishop is not over its stance on LGBTQ inclusion, which previously caused conflict at the church.
Study: Multiracial Methodist churches draw and keep more people than their white counterparts
By Yonat Shimron — April 16, 2021
(RNS) — The 6.6 million-member United Methodist Church is predominantly white. But its racially diverse congregations are faring better than white churches at a time when the denomination as a whole is experiencing declining attendance.
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.
Religious conference planning continues amid COVID-19, socially distant or online
By Adelle M. Banks — March 24, 2021
(RNS) — Religious conference planners are waiting to hear whether their meetings will go on as expected this year and contemplating how they will look as the pandemic continues.
