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Disaster Relief
Workers search through debris at Louise Hays Park in Kerrville, Texas, on July 6 after catastrophic floods over the Fourth of July weekend killed at least 95 people, including 27 campers and counselors at nearby Camp Mystic. Photo by the Rev. Amanda Banda, Rio Texas Conference.
Workers search through debris at Louise Hays Park in Kerrville, Texas, on July 6 after catastrophic floods over the Fourth of July weekend killed at least 95 people, including 27 campers and counselors at nearby Camp Mystic. Photo by the Rev. Amanda Banda, Rio Texas Conference.

Grieving church brings comfort in Texas floods
As the floodwaters rose, Kerrville First United Methodist Church quickly opened as a shelter. Since then, the church has provided respite for families waiting to hear about loved ones.

Editor's Picks

General Church
The Kenya Prison Service band leads procession at the start of the Africa Methodist Council’s heads of Methodist conferences summit on May 14 in Nairobi, Kenya. Wesleyan episcopal leaders had the opportunity to discuss regionalization of The United Methodist Church and its impact on all Methodist denominations as well as migration and other issues affecting the church. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah, UM News.

Methodism emerges stronger in Africa
A United Methodist bishop and other church leaders met to chart a way forward for Methodism in Africa. Regionalization was a big topic of conversation.
Mission and Ministry
Members of the Harare (Zimbabwe) Inner-City United Methodist Church’s junior Sunday school class pose with some of their gifts for the local hospital’s pediatric unit. The children and teachers donated medical supplies, stoves and gifts for children. Appliance salesperson Roper Chakava stands second from right. Photo by Chenayi Kumuterera, UM News.

Children team up to help sick kids in Zimbabwe
Youth ages 4-12 at Harare Inner-City United Methodist Church raised $2,500 to provide gifts for children in the local hospital’s pediatric ward.
Annual Conferences
Annual Conference Reports

2025 United Methodist annual conference reports
UM News posts the official summaries filed by annual conferences from around the connection. Find the latest reports on our archive page.

Latest News

Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Birgitte French (second from right) of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference addresses a class at the Mama Lynn Center in Kindu, Congo. The center provides training to vulnerable women and girls. During a visit with other members of a United Methodist delegation from the U.S. in September, French expressed her joy at strengthening the conference’s partnership with eastern Congo. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

Center provides hope for women in Congo
Immigration
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. While disappointed in recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings related to immigration and birthright citizenship, United Methodist leaders remain committed to upholding the denomination’s teachings to welcome all people as children of God. File photo by Clayton Childers, United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

US Supreme Court rulings challenge church
Worship
Collins Kwasi Prempeh preaches at King Solomon United Methodist Church in Mutare, Zimbabwe, on May 18. Prempeh, the first Deaf Global Missionary, will work with communities in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia, Congo and other parts of East Africa for the next three years. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Deaf missionary welcomes, inspires community
Central Conferences
Tafadzwa Chingosho works in his fields in Hanwa, Zimbabwe, to keep the crops free from weeds. Chingosho, who left school to pursue his dream of being a farmer, gained skills through United Methodist programs including Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission and the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Church programs help young farmer pursue dream
Disaster Relief
Community representative Janvier Murhula (left) thanks The United Methodist Church during the distribution of food supplies in Bukavu, Congo. The United Methodist Committee on Relief provided a solidarity grant that supported 100 households in the city. At right is the Rev. Esther Furaha Kachiko, Bukavu District superintendent. Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News.

United Methodists provide vital aid in Congo
Theology and Education
A lawsuit over United Methodist control of Southern Methodist University in Dallas has reached the Texas Supreme Court. The South Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church filed the lawsuit in 2019 after the university’s board of trustees voted to change the university’s articles of incorporation without the jurisdictional conference’s approval. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons.

High court: Church can sue for SMU control
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Local Church
Mary McLeod Bethune with some of her pupils in 1905. Bethune, the daughter of former slaves, was a pioneering American educator and civil rights leader. She founded what became the historically Black United Methodist college named in her honor, Bethune-Cookman College (now Bethune-Cookman University). Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress World Digital Library Collection.

9 women to know
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Evangelism
John 1:1. Trinity Sunday. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media graphics from UM News
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Social Concerns
Holding hands during a service of appreciation for African Americans who stayed in the church despite institutional racism at The United Methodist Church's 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh are, from left: Anne Marshall of the church's Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns; Juanita Bryant of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Jerry Ruth Williams; the Rev. Larry Pickens; and Bishops Violet L. Fisher and Charlene P. Kammerer. File photo by Mike DuBose.

Giving Methodist women their due
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Mission and Ministry
Dr. Lyduine Baradahana (left), Burundi Minister of Public Health and AIDS Control, cuts the ribbon at the inauguration ceremony for the Gahambwe Health Center in Burundi’s Ruyigi province, alongside United Methodist Bishop Emmanuel Sinzohagera (center) and the Rev. Japhet Nderibicuro, superintendent of the Kinyinya District. The event marks the culmination of a partnership between The United Methodist Church of Burundi and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries to improve access to health care in the region. Photo by Jérôme Ndayisenga, UM News.

Church builds medical facility in Burundi
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General Church
Dr. Ursula Norah Nyamandi, a government medical officer at the Nyadire Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe, monitors the condition of John Gwata, 87, who is anemic. Critical upgrades sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, mean the Old Mutare and Nyadire mission hospitals are better equipped to provide high-quality health care in rural settings. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Mission agency’s support revitalizes hospitals
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Commentaries

Ophelia Hu Kinney. Photo courtesy of the author.

Affirmation at last: Remembering the Rev. Dr. Rick Huskey
Ben Smith. Photo courtesy of the author.

We need a new table where all are welcome
The Rev. Myung Sun Han. Photo courtesy of the author.

‘Not-so-obvious introvert’ on church’s new vision
The Rev. Gabriel Banga Mususwa. Photo courtesy of the author.

An appeal to hold General Conference outside US
Caralyn Ware. Photo courtesy of the author.

When the shepherd strays: Addiction and clergy wellness
Bishop Julius C. Trimble. Photo by Tessa Tillett for the Indiana Conference.

Love demands compassionate response, prophetic witness
Cliff White. Photo courtesy of the author.

Why our church is in trouble
Anna Riddle. Photo by Heather Gaydeski Photography.

Carrie Parrish's legacy holds lessons for today
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Multimedia

Mission and Ministry
Mary Ellis and Steve Richardson conduct a free church disability audit. Steve is chair of the Holston Conference’s Disability Concerns Committee. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.
Mary Ellis and Steve Richardson conduct a free church disability audit. Steve is chair of the Holston Conference’s Disability Concerns Committee. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Accessibility audits ensure church’s doors are open to all
The Richardson family’s desire for their son Powell to become a full member of the UMC led to a change in the Book of Discipline that paved the way for others with disabilities to join.

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Mission and Ministry
Sister Alegría (right) and Sister Confianza, members of the Amigas del Señor (Women Friends of the Lord) Monastery in Limón, Honduras, pray during evening compline. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

United Methodist nuns blend spiritual traditions
Evangelism
People gather around a laptop during a “Tell Your Church’s Story” training event for churches in the Rizal Philippines Annual Conference East (RPACE) on March 22. The event was sponsored by the Taytay Philippines Communications team and United Methodist Communications. Image courtesy of the Taytay Philippines Communications team.

Philippines church communicators develop new skills
Church Growth
The Rev. Alexander von Wascinski receives a blessing from his congregation at Peace Church United Methodist in Munich, Germany. Photo courtesy of Peace Church United Methodist, via Facebook. Facebook.

Peace Church offers ‘home for everyone’
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. John Collett and his wife, Rita Collett, rent a bedroom in their home in Nashville, Tenn., to a college student through a program called Nesterly, Through this intergenerational home sharing, senior citizens can receive rent money and help with home services in exchange for housing young people. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Couple says intergenerational home sharing works
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