News
Monday, Feb 18, 2019
On February 23, elected United Methodist delegates along with our bishops will gather in St. Louis, Missouri, for a called special session of General Conference. The goal of the meeting is to find a way forward through our disagreements about same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBTQ clergy.
You and I may feel far removed from what is happening in St. Louis, but there are ways we can follow what’s happening and support those doing the work.
Begin with prayer
Th... (read more)
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019
This year, the All In Community Leadership team decided to leverage video conferencing technology to make training opportunities more accessible across the Conference. On each day of training, participants can choose one of three options. Option one is to attend the training "live on location" with the content trainer. Meals and hard copies of training materials are provided with this option. The second option is to watch a simulcast of the training with other... (read more)
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019
West Ohio's Next Generation Leadership Ministry Intern program is for undergraduate students interested in exploring a call to United Methodist ordained ministry. The 10-week paid summer internship allows selected mentors and host churches to play a critical role in the experience of each assigned intern discerning a call to ordained ministry. Each mentor and host church will develop a relationship with the assigned intern that will help the intern cultivate le... (read more)
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019
When Lorraine Charinda, 30, arrived at Kamisamba Farm last year, she found two employees, barren fields, a rundown training center and four pigs in the sties. Today, the farm in North Katanga, Congo, boasts 20 hectares of various crops, 30 pigs and 15 employees. "There were some challenges when I started serving at Kamisamba," said Charinda, a missionary from Zimbabwe serving through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. "The culture was very differe... (read more)
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019
United Methodist Communications is offering local churches customizable Easter outreach tools to invite their communities to events and worship services. The resources, available in English and Spanish, include direct mail postcards, posters, invitation cards, yard signs, outdoor banners and free downloadable graphics. The agency also is offering $250 grants for local churches to help cover the cost of the resources and shipping. The offer will continue until g... (read more)
Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019
The Advance Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA) contains the agenda, rules, delegate listings, petitions, reports from the general agencies/commissions and study committees, information for delegates, and codes of conduct for the 2019 General Conference. The Daily Christian Advocate (DCA) is produced daily during the General Conference sessions, and contains news and features as well as the verbatim transcript of the conference proceedings and calendar items. Bound... (read more)
Monday, Feb 11, 2019
A team of 16 members from Indian Run United Methodist Church in Dublin recently returned from the church's fifth mission experience in Pelerin, Haiti. They have nearly completed construction on a church building there, and also held Vacation Bible School for more than 100 children. In addition, the team worshiped with a local congregation, "which feels like a family reunion at this point," remarked Greg Liening, team leader. "So many great memories were made wh... (read more)
Monday, Feb 11, 2019
The California-Pacific Conference includes the island of Saipan where super typhoon Yutu destroyed many of the island's homes and businesses in 2018. Volunteers are needed to help re-build, but certain conditions apply: preferably Early Response Team trained; skilled in construction work; ability to withstand long working days with warm temperatures and high humidity; willingness to eat the island food and respect the cultural differences. Teams would work for... (read more)
Monday, Feb 11, 2019
United Methodist Insurance (UMI) and its partner, AmVenture Insurance Agency, Inc. (AmVenture), are working together to provide more competitive pricing and enhanced coverage for United Methodist churches and other related properties. Unfortunately, those UMI clients with renewal dates in January 2019 were not given much time to take actions necessary to implement their new policies. Because of this, UMI has received a number of questions, and some properties h... (read more)
Monday, Feb 11, 2019
Meet Benton Stull, Intern in Restorative Justice & Peace Building. Grace UMC (Dayton) is privileged to be hosting Benton for his Master's level practicum in Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. His areas of interest are church mobilization for restorative justice and support for people impacted by incarceration. Benton will be working with prison, jail, and reentry ministry at Grace UMC through Seeds of Grace and the H.O.... (read more)