|
UM News Digest - Nov. 9, 2026
|
|
Bishop Rubén Saenz Jr., Council of Bishops president, discusses the work of covenant groups during the United Methodist Leadership Gathering at Knox United Church in Calgary, Canada. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
|
With cherished prayer, bishops tackle challenges
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — During their fall meeting, United Methodist bishops discussed artificial intelligence, immigration and the recent Leadership Gathering. They also took lessons from the Lord’s Prayer. Council of Bishops President Rubén Saenz Jr. encouraged the bishops to be good ancestors, like the people who first taught them to pray the words Jesus taught. Heather Hahn reports. |
|
Once a week, the ShowerUp truck comes to Cookeville First United Methodist Church in Tennessee. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.
|
Church showers unhoused neighbors with love
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — A Tennessee congregation is taking ministry beyond church walls by offering hot showers, fresh meals and other support to unhoused neighbors. Providing necessities also has opened the door to something more — friendship, dignity and a place to belong. “When I come out of there, I feel like a new woman,” one guest said of the church’s weekly shower ministry. Lilla Marigza has the story.
Watch video |
|
The Rev. Ayoub Samuel Ali Kori, district superintendent in Nasr City-Ramses United Methodist Church, joins church members during a joint Christmas carol service organized by Arbawnus United Methodist Church at a rented venue in Zahra, Egypt. File photo by Fifiana Ayoub.
|
Helping refugees in Egypt find belonging
CAIRO (UM News) — The United Methodist Church in Egypt has become a sanctuary for refugees, especially those fleeing the war in Sudan. Despite a lack of facilities, three congregations provide Bible studies, worship services and outreach to those who need help. At its inception, the church had 20 members. Today, it has expanded to more than 1,300 members, led by five pastors and one district superintendent. Jacob Isaac Borsil and Kudzai Chingwe report.
Read story |
|
|
|
Michigan Conference
The Healing Feast takes flight
LANSING, Mich. — People of any faith, or no faith at all, are welcome at The Healing Feast, where people gather to eat, visit and engage with music, movement, poetry and nature. Founded by the Rev. Sari Brown, the ministry hosts eight feasts and several small gatherings each year in non-traditional settings. For two years it has brought people from all walks of life across Michigan into safe, sacred spaces where they can be fully themselves and learn and grow together. James Deaton has the story.
Read story |
|
|
|
United Methodist Communications
New Recap spotlights Leadership Gathering
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This month’s special episode of The Recap unpacks The United Methodist Church’s Leadership Gathering in Calgary, Alberta, and how it allowed participants to imagine the possibilities for the future of the denomination.
Watch video
UM News: Gathering offers 16 ideas for church future
Oklahoma Conference
Bishop gets her kicks on Route 66
OKLAHOMA CITY — Bishop Laura Merrill recently spent three days traveling historic Route 66 through Oklahoma and took along a videographer. She visited United Methodist churches along the way.
Watch video |
|
|
Disability Ministries Committee, Religion and Race
Grants available to advance disability justice
WASHINGTON — The United Methodist Church’s Disability Ministries Committee and Commission on Religion and Race will award 10 grants of up to $5,000 to support creative, community-centered ministries that advance disability justice in historically marginalized and underserved communities. The 2026-2027 DMC/CORR Action Fund grant cycle focuses on advocacy, education and empowerment, rather than physical accessibility improvements to buildings.
Read press release
Finance and Administration
More information on new Clergy Act
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The United Methodist Church’s finance and administration agency has more details on the new Clergy Act, which creates a one-time window for ministers who previously opted out of Social Security and Medicare taxes to reverse that decision. “This law will likely only impact a small number of United Methodist clergy because of United Methodist doctrine. But any who did opt out now have an option that didn’t exist before,” the General Council on Finance and Administration said in a release.
Read press release
UM News: Clergy get second chance for Social Security |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photo by Francis Nkhoma, UM News
|
|
3 years after cyclone, recovery continues in Malawi
|
|
|
Photo by J. Alex Wilson, courtesy of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
|
|
State supreme court blocks church-property suit
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
United Methodist News is sent by United Methodist Communications
810 12th Ave. S. Nashville, TN 37203-4704
Email: newsdesk@umcom.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
