News

In August 1619, about 50 people from Angola arrived in Jamestown, Virginia — the first African slaves in what is now the U.S. Four hundred years later, African Americans still struggle with the onerous remains of that legacy.

The federal government is issuing fines of up to $500,000 to some immigrants living in sanctuary churches as they fight deportation. Currently, nine United Methodist congregations are serving as hosts. The United Methodist Immigration Task Force is urging all church members to support these persons by praying for them and sending postcards expressing support. The denomination’s Board of Church and Society, Board of Global Ministries and United Methodist Women have joined in this call.

Church membership data plays a critical role in denominational decision-making, but the numbers come with uncertainty. Heather Hahn explains how church leaders gather the information and the role it plays.

Cross-racial and cross-cultural (CR/CC) ministry is a gift from God. It is a gift in the sense that God opens up an opportunity for a pastor and a parish to embody the diversity within the body of Christ.

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church (COB) has asked the Judicial Council for a declaratory decision as to the constitutionality, meaning, application and effect of certain petitions adopted as the Traditional Plan by the 2019 General Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, in February.

In light of the recent news about children in U.S. government holding facilities along the U.S.-Mexico border, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is calling for a Sunday of Solidarity for Suffering Children on Sunday, June 30.

Read or download the sermons, episcopal address, presentations, and Vision Updates from the 220th Session of the New York Annual Conference.

The closing worship service of the 220th session of the New York Annual Conference was a time to celebrate how God’s claim on all lives is experienced through baptism, confirmation, ordination and Holy Communion.

The 220th session of the New York Annual Conference runs from Thursday, June 6 to Sunday, June 9. Here's the daily agenda:

Rev. Doris K. Dalton The New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church announces that Rev. Doris K. Dalton has been selected as the director of leadership development and intercultural competency.  Doris is a deacon in full connection and has been a member of the conference for five years. She currently serves on the NYAC Board of Ordained Ministry and is the chair of the Order of Deacons.  She most recently led the Westchester Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Nonviolence as ...

In a video interview, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton shares his thoughts and hopes as the New York Conference prepares to gather for a time of holy conferencing from June 6-9 at Hofstra University. The bishop urges prayer for the conference and that those who will attend "come with a spirit of peace" as we continue to "wade into the waters of uncertainty." Click here to watch on Vimeo.

The 2020 General Conference worship design team invites United Methodists to apply to create liturgy for the quadrennial event, including prayers, calls to worship and litanies. The top legislative assembly will meet May 5-15, 2020, in Minneapolis. “When liturgists from across the connection bring their voices together in prayer and celebration, the power and beauty of God is manifested in a sacred way,” said Raymond Trapp, General Conference worship and music director. Individuals may apply to...

More than 600 U.S. United Methodists spent three days grappling with possible options for forging what they hope will be a more just and inclusive church future. What united those at UMCNext, which met May 20-22 behind closed doors, was their opposition to the Traditional Plan.

United Methodists are wrestling with what’s next in a multinational denomination still deeply divided over the role of LGBTQ Christians. Some 350 U.S. United Methodists staked out their position during the May 17-18 gathering, launching a movement centered on voices they see as too often marginalized — namely people of color and queer and transgender individuals.

Nashville, May 17 - The United Methodist Publishing House has published an Addendum to the 2016 Book of Discipline containing the changes to the Book of Discipline resulting from the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference. The new text of each paragraph or subparagraph affected is included in the Addendum. These will replace the corresponding portions printed in the 2016 Book of Discipline, and should be used when preparing petitions to the 2020 General Conference. The majority of these...