General Conference 2024 Week One
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Mike DuBose Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News
Bishop's Sermon on Sexual Violence Broke Open My Lasting Silence
Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling didn't know about the editor's lasting silence about past sexual assault. Nonetheless she proclaimed April 25 that the church's silence obscures the fact that gender-based violence isn't about sex.
Apr 26, 2024
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Let Bishop Easterling's Words Ring Out
A suvivor of clergy sexual assault, the Rev. John Sumwalt calls on bishops and General Conference delegates to lead services of lament back home to help other suvivors begin to heal.
May 1, 2024
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Church Broadens Defense of Human Rights
General Conference delegates approved the first batch of Revised Social Principles, including an affirmation of the basic rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Apr 27, 2024
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A Journalist and a Cartoon Fish Can Point the Way
Laity Address speakers at General Conference urged United Methodists to work together and keep the faith despite the setback of more than 7,000 disaffiliated churches.
Apr 25, 2024
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Delegates Urged to ‘Restart’ Church with Less
The budget presentation included the need to reduce the number of bishops in the U.S. and add less bishops to Africa than initially planned. Still, delegates also heard hope for the denomination to pivot from church exits to revitalization.
Apr 25, 2024
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Young People Share Fears, Hopes for Future Church
Young delegate Alejandra Salemi of Florida said she sees similarities between the current state of the church and a family torn apart due to divorce. Senesie T.A. Rogers of Sierra Leone said he believes there is hope for a bright future and unity.
Apr 25, 2024
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South Carolina Bishop Calls UMC to Become 'Who God Needs Us to Be'
In one of the most visual addresses in decades, Bishop L. Jonathan Holston built his message around a series of videos that contrasted traumatic world events of the past eight years with United Methodist events and activities that show God's reign.
Apr 24, 2024
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Creation Advocates Stage Bank Protest at General Conference
On the opening day of General Conference, United Methodist creation justice advocates held a prayer vigil and march at the Charlotte, N.C., headquarters of Bank of America to call for the bank to stop funding fossil fuels.
Apr 24, 2024
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UMC's High Court Says General Conference Decides Leader Elections
The United Methodist Church’s top court said it’s up to General Conference to determine how to handle the elections of the court’s membership. In a separate decision, the council also ruled that agency board members elected in 2016 can serve again.
Apr 24, 2024
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Bishop Challenges Conference to Move Forward from Conflicts under God's Power
Bishop Thomas Bickerton challenged delegates to the 2024 General Conference to cast off the trauma of past conflicts and move forward "under the power of the Holy Spirit" to create a new United Methodist Church.
Apr 24, 2024
UMC Now
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United Methodist Immigration Webinar Gives Facts, Cautions and Hope
More than 2,400 participants logged in July 17 to a United Methodist-sponsored webinar that gave 90 minutes of spiritual encouragement, prayer and information – but not legal counsel – on birthright citizenship and immigration enforcement.
Jul 18, 2025
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United Methodist Churches Journey in Many Directions to End Racism
In the finale of Insight's series on the UMC's five-year-old "Dismantling Racism" campaign, John W. Coleman brings stories of some local churches who have made ending racism the core of their ministries.
Jul 17, 2025
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Five Years of Effort to End Racism Yields Hope
What began in outrage and fear has ripened into hopeful resolve: halting as their efforts may be at times, United Methodists throughout the United States are committed to ending racism.
Jul 17, 2025
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At Omaha FaithWestwood, 5Ms Make Magic In Church Renovation
A group of United Methodist men with time to spare renovated their Omaha church space into an expanded center for outreach.
Jul 17, 2025
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Florida Bishop Appeals for Health Aid to Sierra Leone
Florida Bishop Tom Berlin, who has been visiting Sierra Leone on missions for nearly three decades, appeals to United Methodists to support federal aid and church donations to help the West African country continue its fight against HIV.
Jul 16, 2025
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Mid-Africa Conference Elects Three Bishops
The Mid Africa Central Conference, formerly known as the Congo Central Conference, elected three new bishops including one who will oversee a newly formed episcopal area.
Jul 15, 2025
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Agriculture, Health Focus for Africa University-Global Ministries’ Partnership
Africa University and the General Board of Global Ministries have entered into a four-year partnership to support pioneering research and innovation in agriculture and public health – two of Africa's most pressing needs for the future.
Jul 15, 2025
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Louisiana Conference Communications
Bishop Williamston Witnesses Hope, Resilience at Lydia Patterson Institute
Louisiana Bishop Delores J. Williamston finds her conference's generous donation more than justified by a visit to Lydia Patterson Institute, a United Methodist mission school in El Paso, Texas, threatened by U.S. visa restrictions.
Jul 14, 2025
