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arrow icon. Hallelujah Moment from Kenya 
Care in the Midst of Crisis
The Tumaini na Undugu distributes food, clothing, shelter, and other forms of assistance. After nearly four months of political wrangling, widespread violence, and bloodshed, Kenya is charting a new course that hopefully will lead to peace and prosperity.
Source: Mission Education
More about: Christian love |  Communities |  GBGM programs |  Human rights |  Immigration |  International affairs |  Missionaries |  Refugees |  United Methodist Church |  Advance |  Africa | Kenya |
Date posted: May 09, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodists Reject Divestment from Israel 
A number of petitions, including five from U.S. annual (regional) conferences, were folded into one petition on "divestment" that called on the denomination's pension board and finance agency "to review and identify companies that profit from sales of products or services that cause harm to Palestinians and Israelis and begin phased selective divestment from these companies."
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: Conflict |  International affairs |  Resolutions of the UMC |  United Methodist Church |  Israel | Palestine | World |
Date posted: May 04, 2008
arrow icon. Gates Thanks United Methodists For Partnership 
William H. Gates Sr. addresses delegates and visitors to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference on May 1 in Fort Worth, Texas. Gates, the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and a co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spoke on the need to eradicate malaria worldwide. United Methodists have decided to wipe out malaria because "brothers and sisters don't sit back and let each other die," said William H. Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: General Conference |  World |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Witness and Work for Peace at General Conference 
Remembering people killed in Iraq/Sally Graham Ernst (left) of Bethel Park, Penn, and Marilyn J. Outslay of Portland, Oregon, walk among boots and shoes that symbolize people killed in the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The shoes were placed in a park across the street from the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, We oppose unilateral first/preemptive strike actions and strategies on the part of any government," declares a new phrase inserted into the Social Principles of the denomination at its General Conference, which meets every four years and is the only official voice of the church.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Peace |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Church Joins Global Health Campaign 
The Rev. Fitzgerald Reist watches over a basketball signed by United Methodist bishops. The ball is being auctioned at the denomination's 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, with proceeds going the anti-malaria initiative Nothing But Nets. The United Methodist Church "ramped up" its commitment to fight malaria by agreeing to enter into a capital campaign to raise $75 million to $100 million for global health.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: General Conference |  World |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Church Supports People of Tibet and Taiwan 
United Methodists have officially affirmed support for 'the people of Tibet and their struggle for independence and autonomy.' The action came May 1 as General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, met at the Fort Worth Convention Center. The petition on Tibet was among the consent calendar items approved that day.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: General Conference |  Tibet |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodists Support Fair Trade and Small-Scale Farmers  
Fair wages for small scale farmers was among the concerns addressed by The United Methodist Church’s highest legislative body that meets every four years.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Hunger |  UMCOR |  United Methodist Church |  United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Our Ascension Mystery: What Have We Learned? 
United Methodist Bishop Hope Morgan Ward helps load donated sweet potatoes for area hungry during the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Looking forward to Ascension Sunday, United Methodist Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of Mississippi Conference reflected on "the great Christian mystery that illumines our faith" in morning worship at the denomination's General Conference two days before the Ascension celebration on May 4.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: General Conference |  United Methodist Church |  Methodism |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Global Music Teaches Church About Faith and Cultures 
Music at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference reflected the increasingly global nature of the denomination and taught the delegates about their own cultural diversity.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Evangelism |  Evangelization |  Music |  World |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Environmental Protection Resolutions Readopted  
General Conference delegates renewed three resolutions initiated by the Women's Division and the General Board of Global Ministries to protect the environment in separate votes this week. The measures required renewal under a 2004 General Conference rule mandating review of resolutions eight years after adoption.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: Environment |  General Conference |  United Methodist Church |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodists Contribute to Native Center, Site of 1864 Massacre 
Sand Creek Massacre Site The United Methodist Church will contribute to the development of a learning center on the site where in 1864 a Methodist preacher was responsible for the deaths of 150 Native Americans.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: Communities |  General Conference |  United Methodist Church |  Methodism |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodists Accept New Litany as Part of Social Creed 
The United Methodist Church, on the last day of its 2008 General Conference, celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Social Principles, which are guidelines for the social behavior of its members and institutions. Earlier in the meeting it adopted a litany to accompany a denominational Social Creed, which stands at the conclusion of the principles.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: General Conference |  Social Principles |  United Methodist Church |  Methodism |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. General Conference Affirms Support for Reproductive Choice 
The United Methodist General Conference on May 2 affirmed the denomination’s continuing participation in the Religion Coalition for Reproductive Choice, a non-partisan, interfaith, and education organization.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: Family |  GBGM programs |  Global connections |  Health |  United Methodist Church |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. Missionaries Serve at General Conference 
Joyce Hill has provided Spanish-English translation at every General Conference since 1976. She is shown here with Cherie White (left) providing simultaneous translation at the 2004 United Methodist General Conference in Pittsburgh. Missionaries made significant contributions to the proceedings of the 2008 General Conference serving as delegates, interpreters, photographers, accompaniers, and witnesses. Their quiet labors, which took place in large part behind the scenes, created bridges of understanding between people, among delegations, and across the boundaries of national borders that separate people from one another.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: GBGM programs |  General Conference |  Missionaries |  United Methodist Church |  Methodism |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: May 02, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodist Assembly Decides that Building a Global Church Requires Planning 
Delegates consider legislation during the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The growth of The United Methodist Church in Africa is raising serious questions about church organization and leadership. In response, the denomination's legislating General Conference decided that it needs a plan for organizing new geographic units and naming new bishops.
Source: General Conference
More about: United Methodist Church |  Africa | World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. Four Jurisdictions Will Each Lose One Bishop 
Delegates to the 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church approved a plan that will result in one less bishop in each of four of the five U.S. jurisdictions, beginning in 2012.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: United Methodist Church |  United States |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. New Mission Statement Directs Church to Transform the World 
Bishop Gregory Palmer is the incoming president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. United Methodists refined their mission statement on April 28, 2008, to infuse a mission directive into the life and work of the church. The statement now reads, "The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." The latter phrase was added in the revision and will now appear in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, the denomination's official manual.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: Christian love |  General Conference |  United Methodist Church |  Methodism |  South Central U.S. | United States | World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodists Will Now Promise To "Witness" When Becoming Members 
The witness phrase, which highlights the mission and evangelistic responsibility of church membership, was added to the part of the liturgy used when individuals make their professions of membership. The addition was made by the United Methodist General Conference, which meets every four years to conduct the business of the denomination.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Evangelism |  Evangelization |  Resolutions of the UMC |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. Increasing Commitment to the Poor 
Poverty/Bolivia The denomination's top legislative body affirmed the church's continuing support and increased focus on poverty at their quadrennial meeting through three actions, which resulted in changes to the Book of Discipline and the Book of Resolutions. The petitions underline the denomination's focus on "Engaging in Ministry with the Poor," one of four focus areas for The United Methodist Church for the next quadrennium.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: GBGM programs |  Hunger |  Poverty |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. As a Young Deaconess Is Mourned, United Methodists Support Human Rights in the Philippines 
United Methodist Bishop Solito Toquero/of the Manila Episcopal Area. Last month, the Rev. Mariesol Villalon of the Philippines received sad news as she prepared to depart from Manila for Fort Worth, Texas. She learned that Elisa Pera, a 26-year-old United Methodist deaconess, had been killed in what appeared to be a military operation at Tanay in Rizal province on the outskirts of Manila.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Conflict |  United Methodist Church |  Violence |  Philippines |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. General Conference Acts on Girls' Rights, Mercury in Vaccines 
Two girls share a hug with joy. "The Girl Child" resolutions acknowledged that while all children are among the most vulnerable in any society, many cultures place a lower value on girls, creating unique perils that require special protection.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Advocacy |  Children |  Health |  World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. Bishop Says United Methodists in Tension Between "Hospitality" and "Holinesss" 
Chicago Area Bishop Hee-Soo Jung speaks at an April 25 press conference hosted by the United Methodist Task Force on Immigration. Bishop Hee-Soo Jung said that both "are biblical values and both are right, but they can [also] both be wrong.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Civil rights |  Human rights |  Immigration |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodist Church Supports Justice for Immigrants  
United Methodist Women participants in the April 24 lunch-break rally for immigration rights during General Conference see the impact of the unjust immigration policies each day in their local communities. Delegates to the denomination's top legislative body, meeting in Fort Worth from April 23 to May 2, adopted two comprehensive resolutions covering both global migration and immigration issues in the United States.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Civil rights |  Human rights |  Immigration |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: May 01, 2008
arrow icon. Africa's First Woman President Hails Church's Mission Work
 in Historic Address to General Conference
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, dances with the Hope for Africa Children's Choir after addressing the 2008 United Methodist General Conference on April 29 in Fort Worth, Texas. Sirleaf is a United Methodist and the first elected female head of state in Africa. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf praised the work of Global Ministries and The United Methodist Church in helping revitalize her nation and the African continent after years of wars. It was a rousing and historic address to General Conference delivered April 29 by Africa's first woman president.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: United Methodist Church |  Liberia | World |
Date posted: Apr 30, 2008
arrow icon. Rooted in Christ, Bearing Fruit:
 Lutheran Bishop Preaches at United Methodist Conference
Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America preaches April 29 at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. In a world where many people wander without roots, Christ is "our home," a Lutheran bishop told the legislating assembly of The United Methodist Church.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Ecumenical |  World |
Date posted: Apr 30, 2008
arrow icon. Bishop Violet Fisher: Church Must Offer "Radical Hospitality" to Diverse World  
Bishop Violet L. Fisher/ preaches April 30 to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Bishop Violet Fisher of Western New York issued a call for "radical hospitality" toward immigrants, people of color, and all people during a morning worship at General Conference. She helped set the tone for a day focused on diversity and racial justice.
Source: Women's Division
More about: General Conference |  World |
Date posted: Apr 30, 2008
arrow icon. General Conference Counters Hate, Torture, Violence, and Genocide 
Laurie Hays Coffman examines boots and shoes that symbolize people killed in the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The "Resisting Hate, Fear, and Scapegoating, and Transforming the Context of Hate in the United States" resolution reaffirms the denomination's historical opposition to acts of hate, hate speech, and violence in both church and society and urges the church to redouble efforts to speak out against hate crimes.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Conflict |  Hate |  Race |  Resolutions of the UMC |  Violence |  War |  World |
Date posted: Apr 30, 2008
arrow icon. Delegates Reinvest and Affirm Hope in Africa University 
The Africa University/ Traveling choir sings during a report on the university at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Africa University is a uniting, connectional dream come true. That's the message delegates to the denomination's legislative assembly received during a report from its nearly 16-year-old Pan- African institution.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: Education |  GBGM programs |  World | Zimbabwe | Africa |
Date posted: Apr 30, 2008
arrow icon. Proposed New Hymnal Will Go to 2012 Assembly 
United Methodist congregations in the United States could have a new United Methodist Hymnal within five years.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: General Conference |  Music |  United Methodist Church |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: Apr 30, 2008
arrow icon. Liberia President Sirleaf Addresses United Methodists 
Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told a worldwide gathering of United Methodists that her country and her church share a common commitment to eradicate poverty. Sirleaf, a member of the Monrovia (Liberia) United Methodist Church, greeted delegates to the denomination's top lawmaking body as "fellow Christians and fellow Methodists" many times during her April 29 address to the 2008 General Conference.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: Communities |  General Conference |  International affairs |  United Methodist Church |  Women |  Methodism |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. Call for Remembrance and Renewal for Katrina Recovery 
Bishop William Hutchinson of Louisiana thanks United Methodists for their response following Hurricane Katrina during the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Hutchinson is standing in front of a cross made from debris left by the hurricane. 2008 General Conference General Conference paused on Monday morning to recognize the tragedy and celebrate the resulting witness that grew out of Hurricane Katrina's devastation in August 2005.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: General Conference |  Natural disasters |  UMCOR |  United Methodist Church |  United States |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. Moving the Body of Christ to Worship 
Marcia McFee, co-director of music, leads singing during morning worship on April 27 at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. What we do in worship matters. That's a guiding principle shaping the sights, sounds, feel, and movement experienced in the physically engaging worship services of the 2008 General Conference designed by Marcia McFee, co-director of music at this year's quadrennial event.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: General Conference |  Music |  United Methodist Church |  Women |  United States |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. Joyce Hill: Still in a Voice in Mission,
 And Interpreting the Word and Words
Joyce Hill has provided Spanish-English translation at every General Conference since 1976. She is shown here with Cherie White (left) providing simultaneous translation at the 2004 United Methodist General Conference in Pittsburgh. Nine General Conferences of The United Methodist Church have convened since Joyce Hill and a few other Global Ministries missionaries formed an ad hoc translation team in 1976 that has grown into today's efficient professional interpretation operation--and she's still here. To Ms. Hill, it's a kind of reimbursement.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Advocacy |  United Methodist Church |  United States | World |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. New Members of United Methodist University Unit
 Have Strong Links with Global Ministries Agency
Dr. Maxie Dunnam serves on Global Ministries' board of directors. Dr. Charlene Black is director of Global Ministries' Women's Division. Dr. David L. Beckley is president of Rust College, Holley Springs, Mississippi, a national mission institution related to the mission board. Dr. Maxine Clarke Beach is dean of Drew Theological School, Madison, New Jersey, which is a partner with Global Ministries in Communities of Shalom, a church-based ministry of community development and reconciliation.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Education |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. African Bishop Says Efforts Against Diseases Require Literacy and Nutrition 
Preventing and controlling the diseases of poverty must include efforts to increase nutritional standards and literacy, according to a United Methodist bishop who has worked for years to improve health standards in his native Mozambique.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: AIDS/HIV |  Health |  Poverty |  United Methodist Church |  Africa | World |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. General Conference Celebrates the Dissolution of the Central Jurisdiction 
Erin Hawkins, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, commemorates the 40th anniversary of the dissolution of the Central Jurisdiction during the denomination's 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Within the legislative rhetoric necessary to create one Methodist Church in 1939 from the three denominations that had splintered before the nation's Civil War, that direct statement was never made, but skin color was the only basis for setting aside all the congregations of color that made up the Central Jurisdiction. Everyone at the 1939 uniting conference knew that.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Civil rights |  Human rights |  Race |  United Methodist Church |  United States | World |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. Speaking in Tongues: Language Interpreters at General Conference 
Bishop João Somane Machado of Mozambique (left) preaches at a morning worship service during the April 25 session of the United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Translating is Donald Reasoner of Global Ministries. A 140-member team of interpreters and technicians is making it possible for the nearly 300 international delegates to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference to fully participate in plenary worship, committee discussions, and floor debates of the quadrennial event convened April 23 to May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: International affairs |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. Ugandan Children's Choir Brings Energy to Church Business Meeting 
The Hope for Africa Children's Choir performs on April 28 at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The 23-member choir from Uganda was organized by the United Methodist East Africa Annual Conference. Many of its members are orphans who have lost their families to civil war violence or AIDS. A choir of bright smiling children from Uganda brought United Methodist leaders to their feet Monday afternoon, April 27. Dancing up a storm, the children, aged 4 to 12, enlivened delegates to the denomination's top legislative body during a pause in the deliberations.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: Children |  General Conference |  Music |  United Methodist Church |  South Central U.S. | United States |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. Bishop Lyght Calls the Church to Share Bread at Midnight 
United Methodist Bishop Ernest Lyght gives the sermon during morning worship at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. It is midnight and people need bread! The hungry knock and the church must answer the door! So declared Bishop Ernest Lyght of West Virginia during morning worship at The United Methodist Church's General Conference on April 27. The conference meets every four years to conduct the church's business.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Christian love |  United Methodist Church |  World |
Date posted: Apr 29, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodist Church Improves Structure for Dealing with Units Outside the United States 
The United Methodist Church is changing the way in which it addresses the affairs of church units outside the United States.
Source: GBGM Mission News
More about: GBGM programs |  General Conference |  United Methodist Church |  United States |
Date posted: Apr 28, 2008
arrow icon. Five New Members Are Elected to Judicial Council  
The 2008 General Conference on April 28 elected five new members to the top court of The United Methodist Church.
Source: United Methodist News Service
More about: General Conference |  United Methodist Church |  United States |
Date posted: Apr 28, 2008
arrow icon. The United Methodist Church Makes the Malawi District a Missionary Conference 
"It opens up Malawi for church agencies to empower the local people," said Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, leader of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area and the new missionary conference in Malawi. With 18,329 members and 17 pastors, there is a "tremendous level of ministry," he said.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: GBGM programs |  International affairs |  United Methodist Church |  Malawi |
Date posted: Apr 28, 2008
arrow icon. United Methodist Church Formally Admits Côte d'Ivoire Unit, Largest in Denomination 
United Methodist Bishops Janice Riggle Huie (left) and Benjamin Boni speak to reporters during a press conference at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The action came at the 2008 General Conference, which meets every four years to conduct the business of the church. In the future, United Methodists in the West African country will have their fair share of delegates to the General Conference. Its bishop will henceforth be covered by the United Methodist Episcopal Fund.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: GBGM programs |  United Methodist Church |  Cote d´Ivoire | World |
Date posted: Apr 28, 2008
arrow icon. Work Sustains Women and Children in Bolivia 
Justa Mamani of Bolivia thanks delegates to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, for their support through The Advance, a designated giving program of The United Methodist Church. "In the Aymaran culture," Mamani explained, "the custom is for boys to go to school, but for girls to be raised as servants. I didn't have the opportunity to go to school. But now we realize that both boys and girls need to go to school."
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Education |  Poverty |  Women |  Advance |  Bolivia |
Date posted: Apr 28, 2008
arrow icon. Advancing Hope With 60 Years of Giving 
Justa Mamani of Bolivia. For the past 60 years, The Advance for Christ and His Church has received more than $1.2 billion and has responded to human need in more than 100 countries. One hundred percent of each gift to The Advance reaches its intended mission or ministry.
Source: GBGM Press Releases
More about: Advent |  Finance |  GBGM programs |  Bolivia | Sierra Leone | World |
Date posted: Apr 28, 2008
arrow icon. Display Gives Delegates Mission Immersion Experience