GCAH

Ashley Boggan D., top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, gifts Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, with a John Wesley bobblehead Sept. 6 while in Italy for the European Methodist Historical Conference. Seated from left are the Rev. Matthew Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome; Boggan D., Ulrike Schuler with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and Lara Herrmann, a student and Schuler’s granddaughter. Photo courtesy of Vatican Media.

Pope delighted with John Wesley bobblehead

Pope Francis came ‘face to bobblehead’ with Methodism founder John Wesley. Ashley Boggan D., top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, took advantage of a brief meeting with the pontiff to bestow a lighthearted gift.

Theology and Education

Ashley Boggan, the top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, urged the Council of Bishops to do a new thing as John Wesley did. She said the resources of the past, such as Wesley's advice to Methodists, can be used to envision the future. Graphic courtesy of the General Commission on Archives and History.

Historian urges bishops: Reclaim ‘vile’ heritage

In presenting the history of the episcopacy in Methodism, a United Methodist historian challenged bishops to take a page from John Wesley’s playbook and submit to be “more vile.”

Church History

United Methodist Commission on Archives and History staff Christopher Haynes, Dale Patterson and Mark Shenise, along with Drew University students Stephanie Timick and Myongshin Jeon, work on processing an archival collection at the United Methodist Archives and History Center in Madison, N.J. Churches that leave The United Methodist Church are urged to get the files that tell their stories to an archive. Photo courtesy of United Methodist Archives and History.

Disaffiliation shouldn’t result in lost history

Church archivists worry that congregations disaffiliating from The United Methodist Church will fail to make arrangements to preserve the papers that tell their story.

Human Sexuality

Supporters of LGBTQ rights in The United Methodist Church rally around the central Communion table at the close of the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. An updated edition of “American Methodism,” a history of the denomination published by Abingdon Press, adds a chapter covering 20 years of contentious debate over sexuality. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Eventful 20 years added to Methodist history

Abingdon Press has published a revised edition of “American Methodism,” its history of The United Methodist Church and its predecessors. The new version adds a chapter covering 20 years of contentious debate over sexuality.

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