Racial Justice

Lisa Bowser (left), lay leader of Marshallton United Methodist Church in West Chester, Pa., speaks with Christian Boehnke as church members Neal Bowser and Jonah Eckert work in the background to renovate a disability access ramp at St. John United Methodist Church in Bridgeton, N.J. St. John is the fifth-oldest historically Native American church in the denomination. The two congregations have been sharing in ministry and fellowship since 2024 as part of Marshallton’s efforts to address racial injustice toward Indigenous people its area. Photo by David Eckert.

Church addresses historic injustice to Indigenous neighbors

A white Pennsylvania congregation has adopted a land acknowledgment statement and is walking alongside a Native American church in ministry and fellowship.

General Agencies

Members of the United Women in Faith Program Advisory Group celebrate the announcement of Assembly 2026, scheduled for May 15-17, 2026, in Indianapolis. Board and program advisory group members met in person March 6-9 at Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., the organization’s first in-person meeting since early 2020. Pictured in the foreground are board member Marilyn Sanchez Reid of the Western Jurisdiction and Vice President Heidi Careaga of the North Central Jurisdiction. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Women’s group plans assembly, calls for justice

United Women in Faith kicked off plans for Assembly 2026 in Indianapolis and heard the call to act now for racial justice.

Racism

Confronting hate: What do you wear?

An encounter with neo-Nazis shows how fear, the need for belonging and distorted views about Christianity form a dangerous mix.

Faith Stories

The Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. speaks about nonviolence at First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., in 2009, during a congressional civil rights pilgrimage to the state. The church was the site of a 1961 confrontation between Freedom Riders and an angry mob. Lawson died June 9 at age 95. File photo by Kathy L. Gilbert, UM News.

Stories abound after the death of the Rev. James Lawson

The United Methodist pastor, who died June 9, is being remembered as a “giant for nonviolence, peace and love.” Acolytes and friends of the Civil Rights leader say his legacy will continue to change society for the better.

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