Homepage
Featured Articles
Eastern Pennsylvania Church to Open Year-Round Shelter for Homeless Neighbors
Otterbein United Methodist Church in Lancaster, Pa., will open its spacious, rarely used fellowship hall as a year-round emergency, overnight shelter for homeless neighbors starting December 1, in response to an urgent appeal from the city. Read more
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Photo
Bethlehem Church Serves Church, Community in Local Mission Blitz Week
Epworth UMC in Bethlehem, Pa., plans an annual "mission blitz" week to give its members the opportunity to do good in their local neighborhood. Read more
Pastors Witness Impact of Holston Missions in Liberia, Zimbabwe
Two pastors traveled to Zimbabwe and Liberia over 17 days to see how Holston Conference supplies and offerings have helped people served by United Methodist missions. Read more
Shutterstock
Blessing of the Animals as Community Outreach
An animal blessing is a wonderful opportunity to invite those who have not been in worship in a while as well as those who are unchurched. Read more
Join the Conversation
United Methodist Insight welcomes submissions from our readers and followers. Text may be included in the email body or as an attachment; MS Word files are preferred. Please limit articles to 1,000 words and include full name, contact information, and author's photo. Send your news and views on topics of interest to United Methodists to um-insight@as-tex.net.
UMC Future
-
Conference's 'Re-affiliation' Policy Seeks to Welcome Disaffiliated Churches Back Home
Thanks to a pastor's compassionate motion based on the parable of the prodigal son, Alabama-West Florida Conference's board of trustees has adopted a policy for disaffiliated churches to rejoin The United Methodist Church. Read more
-
Filipino Lay Leaders Call for Autonomy
The Board of the Laity in the Philippines held a forum to seek clarity on church issues and called for autonomy without going through the Book of Discipline process. The three newly elected bishops in the country pledged to work for UMC unity. Read more
-
Photo by Eveline Chikwanah/UM News
African Bishops Tackle Regionalization
Discussions at the Sept. 2-7 meeting included the General Conference petition on regionalization, Christian marriage and the way forward for the church in Africa. Most African bishops signed a statement affirming their intention to stay in the UMC. Read more
-
Math: The GMC Has Abandoned Africa
Jesus talks a lot about money because it represents our stewardship capacity and our priorities. A clear evaluation of the stewardship capacity and priorities of the Global Methodist Church shows it has already moved from investing outside the USA. Read more
The Trial of Bishop Minerva Carcaño
-
Photo by Paul Jeffrey/UM News
Trial Proves UMC Bishops Are Held Accountable
Do not ever let anyone tell you again that our bishops can do whatever they want and are not accountable. That is the current setup for GMC bishops. But United Methodist bishops (and all of us) serve under accountability, writes Mary John Dye. Read more
Sep 25, 2023
-
Paul Jeffrey Paul Jeffrey/United Methodist Ne
Conference, Jurisdiction Issue Statements on Bishop's Acquittal
Two United Methodist units involved in her investigation have issued statements on the results of the trial that took place Sept. 19-22 at the headquarters of Wespath Benefits and Investments in Glenview, Ill. Read more
Sep 25, 2023
-
Paul Jeffrey Paul Jeffrey/United Methodist Ne
Bishop's Trial Sparks Reflections on Leadership
How does one use one's leadership position? How does the team deal with disagreements, differences of understanding and perspective, even severe differences of opinion? How does the leader and each member of the team deal with the power issues? Read more
Sep 24, 2023
-
Paul Jeffrey Paul Jeffrey/United Methodist Ne
Bishop's Advocate Clarifies Specifications of Charges
The Rev. Scott Campbell, advocate for Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño during her recent church trial, clarifies how specifications affect chargeable offenses. Read more
Sep 24, 2023
-
Bishop Carcaño Found Not Guilty of All Charges
A church trial court of 13 clergy found Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño not guilty Sept. 22 of four chargeable offenses brought against her from three complaints stemming from conflicts around her administration in the California-Nevada Conference. Read more
Sep 22, 2023
-
Photo by Paul Jeffrey/UM News
Witnesses Paint Differing Pictures of Suspended Bishop
Two district superintendents from the California-Nevada Annual Conference painted vastly different pictures of suspended Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño's character and actions during the second day of her trial on four chargeable offenses. Read more
Sep 21, 2023
-
Photo by Paul Jeffrey/UM News
Scenes from Bishop's Trial
Photojournalist Paul Jeffrey captured scenes from the trial of Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño in Glenview, Ill., as the official photographer for UM News. Read more
Sep 21, 2023
-
Paul Jeffrey Paul Jeffrey/United Methodist Ne
If She'd Been a White Male, a Trial Would Never Have Happened
There's an inescapable fact at the bottom of l'affaire Carcaño: the trial testimony made clear that the complaints brought against her were all about power and ego. Read more
Sep 21, 2023
-
First Day of Trial Marked by Procedures, Testimony
Four chargeable offenses based on three complaints against GLENVIEW, Ill. – After 18 months of speculation, the chargeable offenses brought against suspended Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño finally were made public on the first day of a church trial. Read more
Sep 20, 2023
Latest News & Views
-
Fresh Expressions' First National Gathering Changes Site over Justice Concerns
The first national gathering of Fresh Expressions United Methodist has moved its site from Florida to North Carolina after potential attendees raised concerns that they would not feel safe in the "anti-woke" atmosphere of the Sunshine State. Read more
-
Photo by Thomas E. Kim/UM News
Faith Leaders Advocate for Peace and Reunification of Koreas
The Fourth Roundtable for Peace on the Korean Peninsula, hosted by the Korean Methodist Church, The United Methodist Church and the World Methodist Council, was held Aug. 28-29 in Seoul, South Korea. Read more
-
Retired Pastor's Book Finds Methodist History 'Strangely Lukewarm' on Confronting Racism
Author John Elford hopes his new book, "Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm," will educate white United Methodists about the problematic racist past of American Methodism. Read more
Caring for Creation
-
Reading Genesis Right: Caring for the Earth Is a Partnership with the Divine
Interpreting Genesis more accurately shows that humans aren't to "own" the earth, but are in a partnership with God to be good stewards of creation, says a rabbi. Read more
-
What's with This Autumn Heat?
Summer heat just won't let go, while fossil fuels whose burning increases the climate crisis are still being promoted. On the plus side, there's plenty of innovation adapting to climate issues. Read more
-
New Evidence Documents Climate Change's Harm to Children
As if we needed any more impetus to care for God's creation, there's new evidence that the climate crisis is harming the world's children. Read more
