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Photo essay: Vigil for Creation

Photos by Mike DuBose and Paul Jeffrey
April 23, 2024 | CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UM News) 

On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation to mark Earth Day and to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. Participants included Thomas Elliott (left), a professor at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and Candler students Mary Frances Gaston (center) and Emily McGinn. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation to mark Earth Day and to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. Participants included Thomas Elliott (left), a professor at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and Candler students Mary Frances Gaston (center) and Emily McGinn. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Grace Rogers from Jacksonville, Fla., a student at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta participates in a candlelight Vigil for Creation on Earth Day, April 22, on the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Grace Rogers from Jacksonville, Fla., a student at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta participates in a candlelight Vigil for Creation on Earth Day, April 22, on the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Annual Conference, who is also president of the board of directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, holds a candle at the Vigil for Creation on April 22 to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. His wife, the Rev. Im Hyon Jung, stands beside him. She is an elder in the Wisconsin Conference and director of International Relations, Asia & Global Programs, for the Upper Room/Discipleship Ministries. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Annual Conference, who is also president of the board of directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, holds a candle at the Vigil for Creation on April 22 to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. His wife, the Rev. Im Hyon Jung, stands beside him. She is an elder in the Wisconsin Conference and director of International Relations, Asia & Global Programs, for the Upper Room/Discipleship Ministries. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation on Earth Day on the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Participants included Dr. Musa Dube, the distinguished professor of New Testament at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation on Earth Day on the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Participants included Dr. Musa Dube, the distinguished professor of New Testament at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
The Rev. Pat Watkins, a leader of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, reads Scripture during a service marking Earth Day at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte before the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
The Rev. Pat Watkins, a leader of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, reads Scripture during a service marking Earth Day at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte before the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Ragghi Rain Calentine, an Eastern Cherokee storyteller and chair of the United Methodist Native American International Conference, participates in a service at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte on the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Ragghi Rain Calentine, an Eastern Cherokee storyteller and chair of the United Methodist Native American International Conference, participates in a service at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte on the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
A view of the Shenandoah Valley near Pearisburg, Va., from the Woods Hole Hostel, a popular resting spot for hikers along the Appalachian Trail. On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists held a candlelight Vigil for Creation to advocate for greater stewardship of creation. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A view of the Shenandoah Valley near Pearisburg, Va., from the Woods Hole Hostel, a popular resting spot for hikers along the Appalachian Trail. On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists held a candlelight Vigil for Creation to advocate for greater stewardship of creation. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The sun sets over the Amazon River near Manaus, Brazil. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The sun sets over the Amazon River near Manaus, Brazil. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A candle holds hope as activists call on the denomination to greater stewardship of creation ahead of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. A vigil and service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
A candle holds hope as activists call on the denomination to greater stewardship of creation ahead of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. A vigil and service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

United Methodist Bishops bless the elements of Holy Communion during a world-wide worship service at First United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C., in the lead-up to the 2024 United Methodist General Conference. From left are Bishops Israel Maestrado Painit of the Philippines, John Wesley Yohanna of Nigeria and Rodolfo A. Juan of the Philippines. The gathering was coordinated by the Love Your Neighbor Coalition and the National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News. 

General Conference photos

UM News has photographers on the plenary floor of General Conference 2024 and at special events and meetings throughout the session. View photos from each day on Flickr.
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Mission and Ministry
Students at The United Methodist Church’s Hanwa Mission Secondary School in Hanwa, Zimbabwe, gather around a guava tree they planted at the school. The tree-planting initiative, funded by the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, promotes creation care and practical learning. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Planting hope: Mission school journeys toward climate justice
A United Methodist tree-planting initiative in Zimbabwe is providing a living classroom for students while strengthening environmental awareness.
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Laurie Bayen (left) reads the Sermon on the Mount from an Indigenous version of the New Testament while standing alongside the Laguna de Santa Rosa, a 22-mile-long wetland in Sebastopol, Calif., that was once inhabited by the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok people, during a field trip for the Sacred Ground program. Sacred Ground is a mobile outdoor walking/spirituality app developed by Bayen, a United Methodist pastor. It combines creation care and Indigenous history with calls to action. Pictured with Bayen, from left, are Cheryl LaSalle, Charlotte Fisher, Carol Wegner and Pat Schoch.

Connecting with creation on Sacred Ground
United Methodist pastor launches mobile walking/spirituality app to spotlight creation care and Indigenous history and to encourage action.
Church History
The Methodist Church’s 1956 General Conference meets from April 25 to May 7 in the municipal auditorium in Minneapolis. On May 4, the first Friday of the legislative assembly, the delegates voted to make women eligible for full clergy rights. “Now it is up to us to prove in clear and deep witness to the whole church our consecration and our loyal devotion to the work of the Kingdom of God,” said Margaret Henrichsen, a General Conference visitor, after the vote. In 1967, she became the first U.S. woman appointed district superintendent. Photo courtesy of Archives and History.

Why the 1956 women-clergy vote matters
Seventy years ago, the Methodist Church supported full conference membership for women clergy — a decision that would have a resounding impact when The United Methodist Church formed in 1968 and even today.

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