Local Church

Worship
Retired Bishop Peggy A. Johnson. Photo courtesy of the author.

Helping people ‘hear the Gospel’ in new ways

May is National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, a good time for United Methodist churches to examine ways to improve hearing accessibility.
Local Church
(From left) Naoutane Ndecky, Senegal District women’s president, Abraham Basse, district lay president, and Eric Ané raise their hands in prayer during the dedication service at Temple Beth Shalom United Methodist Church in Diamniadio, Senegal. The ceremony marked the official inauguration of the new modern building, the result of a collective effort to provide United Methodists in the community with their own place of worship after 18 years of renting. Photo courtesy of the Senegal District.

Celebrating a new church building in Senegal

After 18 years of worshipping in rented spaces and experiencing a collapsed roof, community inaugurates Temple Beth Shalom United Methodist Church.
Social Concerns
United Methodists are joining with other Christians in Palm Sunday actions across the United States that aim to counter rising authoritarianism with Christ’s call to love our neighbors. Organizers emphasize that the original Palm Sunday, as described in the Gospels, was a political event. Palm leaf image by studio2013, courtesy of Pixabay; illustration by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Across US, churches plan Palm Sunday protests

United Methodists are among the Christians helping to organize rallies and processions in at least 13 states that are intended to counter rising authoritarianism and greed with Jesus’ call to feed the hungry, care for the sick and welcome the stranger.
Congregations
Members of Marvin United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., pose during a bowling outing. Marvin United Methodist Church received a $100,000 grant from neighboring Sherwood Forest United Methodist Church to help make repairs on its building. Photo courtesy of Marvin United Methodist Church.

Church merger results in win-win-win-win

In North Carolina, United Methodists are making good things happen from an unhappy decline in membership in some of its churches.

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