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3 weeks ago | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges
Key points The Rev. Ted Campbell has edited and published “A Core Methodist Hymnal, which collects the texts of 126 hymns in the public domain. Campbell is a longtime professor at United Methodist seminaries and an authority on the great hymn writer Charles Wesley. The book is intended as a devotional or study book for individuals and small groups and includes commentaries by Campbell after each hymn text. The Rev.
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Jun 3, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges
Key points Lloyd Ambrosius has died at age 82. He was a longtime history professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an active, mission-minded member of Saint Paul United Methodist Church. Ambrosius had a key role in launching Encounter with Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean, an endowed fund that supports Methodist missions and ministry in those regions.
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May 28, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges
Key points Deadly storms swept across multiple states during Memorial Day weekend. United Methodist churches in hard-hit communities have found various ways to help. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is beginning to process solidarity grants to annual conferences that will be responding.
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May 14, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges
Key points Bishop Carlton P. Minnick has died at age 96. He led conferences in Mississippi and North Carolina. Colleagues have been paying tribute, citing his grace-filled leadership and strong support for women clergy. Bishop Carlton P. Minnick didn’t hesitate to preach about the demands of Christian faith. “It’s so much easier to sing ‘My Jesus, I Love Thee’ than it is to love like Jesus loved,” he said in one sermon.
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May 3, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Neill Caldwell |Sam Hodges
Key points: General Conference delegates passed in bulk much of the legislation supported by United Methodist climate justice activists. An effort to require United Methodist institutions to divest of fossil fuel company stocks did not succeed. The Rev.
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May 3, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Neill Caldwell |Sam Hodges
Key points: General Conference approved a resolution calling on United Methodist institutions not to invest in the government bonds of Israel, Turkey and Morocco, given that those nations have engaged in long-term military occupations. Wespath, the church’s pensions and investment agency, said it will carefully consider the non-binding measure.
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May 3, 2024 | 
julieroys.com | Sam Hodges |Jim Patterson |Julie Roys
African delegates and one African bishop joined in a protest after General Conference delegates voted to revise the church’s position on marriage, for the first time approving same-sex couples who choose to wed. At the opposite end of a plaza outside the Charlotte Convention Center, members of the Queer Delegate Caucus and allies celebrated the same decision.
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May 2, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges |Jim Patterson
Key points: General Conference delegates’ decision to change the church’s teaching on marriage, for the first time approving same-sex couples who wed, sparked a protest from some African delegates. As the Africans held their protest outside the Charlotte Convention Center, supporters of the decision gathered a short distance away for celebration. Bishop John Wesley Yohanna of Nigeria joined in the Africans’ protest.
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May 2, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges
United Methodist bishops famously have neither voice nor vote in General Conference decision-making, but they have had plenty to say since delegates moved this week to change the church’s official policies on homosexuality. Their tone and points of emphasis have varied, with some clearly feeling exultant. “This is a historic day that has been decades in the making,” said Iowa Conference Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai on May 1, in a video posted after delegates lifted a ban on LGBTQ ordination.
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May 1, 2024 | 
umnews.org | Sam Hodges
Key points: General Conference delegates approved a new retirement plan for United Methodist clergy in the U.S. Called Compass, it is a defined contribution plan rather than the defined benefit plan that historically has been offered. Leaders of Wespath, the denomination’s pension and benefits agency, said a change was necessary due to financial challenges facing a denomination that has steadily shrunk for decades.
