UM News Digest - Sept. 30, 2026

UM News Digest - Sept. 30, 2026

Congo fire | Leadership Gathering | Let the light find you

Moïse Mwango Numbalanga (center in white shirt), coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Management Office in the Bukavu District, walks through the field of ruins in the Irambo neighborhood in Bukavu, Congo, to speak with United Methodist disaster survivors. Photo courtesy of the Disaster Management Office of the East Congo Episcopal Area.

United Methodists lose homes in Congo fire
BUKAVU, Congo (UM News) — More than 70 United Methodist families are homeless after a devastating fire swept through several neighborhoods in eastern Congo, a region already weakened by insecurity and the reemergence of Ebola. Ibanda United Methodist Church arranged emergency housing in members’ homes, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief is processing a $10,000 solidarity grant. Philippe Kituka Lolonga reports.

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The skyline of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. United Methodists from around the globe are coming to the Canadian city for the denomination’s first-of-its-kind Leadership Gathering, scheduled for Oct. 20-24, intended to help the denomination discern its next steps. Photo by Tamsintj, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The skyline of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Photo by Tamsintj, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Countdown begins to Leadership Gathering
CALGARY, Alberta (UM News) — The Leadership Gathering is now less than a month away. The Council of Bishops plans to bring together some 300 United Methodists on Oct. 20-24 to help reimagine the denomination’s future. In the meantime, organizers are providing ways for all United Methodists to engage in the work. Heather Hahn reports.
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Arkansas Conference
Church garden feeds neighbors
BRINKLEY, Ark. — United Methodists in the Delta have grown more than a ton of food this year to give to those in need. Steve and Leah Williamson are doing their part at the Mustard Seed Garden, which is next to their church, Brinkley First United Methodist. Most summer mornings, they can be found weeding, watering and sometimes harvesting. Frank E. Lockwood has the story.
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Great Plains Conference
Bishop Mutti remembered at celebration
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Bishop Albert Frederick “Fritz” Mutti was lauded by friends and colleagues at a celebration of life in his honor Sept. 25 at Woods Chapel United Methodist Church. United Methodist Bishops David Wilson, Laura Merrill and Bob Farr all spoke in tribute to the episcopal leader, who led the Kansas East and West conferences from 1992 until his retirement in 2004. “Bishop Mutti and (wife) Etta Mae’s lives are entwined and affected so many of us in The United Methodist Church,” Wilson said. David Burke reports.
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UM News: Bishop Mutti, leader in AIDS fight, dies

UM News includes in the Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not UM News staff.

Be brave enough to let the light find you
SULPHUR, La. (UM News) — A United Methodist lay member shares her story in honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Ännä White says a former pastor’s honesty about depression allowed her to realize she didn’t have to be healed to find a home at church. “I didn’t have a lightning bolt moment or a miraculous healing, nor do I have five easy steps to tell anyone that will change their life,” she writes. “I doubt I’ll ever be ‘healed,’ but that has not been a prerequisite for belonging.”
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Status and Role of Women
Monitoring report released for young people’s event
GLENVIEW, Ill. — The United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women has released a monitoring report from the Global Young People’s Convocation, held July 7-11 in Dublin, Ireland. The agency is mandated by the United Methodist Book of Discipline to monitor “inclusiveness in the programmatic and administrative functioning of The United Methodist Church.” “If best practices about how to interact with one another are understood early on, holding space for oneself and others comes much easier later,” said the Rev. Katrena King, director of Monitoring and Resource Development.
Read press release (PDF)
See report (PDF)

United Methodist Communications, Pacific Northwest Conference
Managing end of Microsoft Publisher
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you produce your church bulletin or weekly newsletter in Microsoft Publisher, you already know the clock is ticking. Publisher is scheduled to retire in October. United Methodist Communications walks through alternatives at three budget levels: free, low-cost and full-featured paid solutions. Patrick Scriven of the Pacific Northwest Conference offers guidance for preserving Microsoft Publisher documents.
Read United Methodist Communications guidance
Read Scriven’s guidance