Traditions

Trappist monks at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Mass., chant in the sanctuary. “Sabbath: An Ancient Tradition Meets the Modern World,” a new documentary on American Public Television, explores the Sabbath as a time for restoration and well-being in different traditions. Photo courtesy of Journey Films.

Reviving the Sabbath

A documentary on American Public Television is promoting reconsideration of how Christians and others observe a Sabbath day each week. It’s not about taking a nap, but rather rest, restoration and personal and communal well-being.

Mission and Ministry

Wampanoag leader Ousamequin (left) and Plymouth Colony Gov. John Carver are depicted smoking a peace pipe as they worked out a treaty of peace and mutual protection on March 22, 1621. The U.S. Thanksgiving Day tradition has mythologized the relationship between the Wampanoag and the English settlers, but the harsher realities provide vital lessons for United Methodists today. Image from the California State Library’s Sutro Library, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The making of Thanksgiving in the US

With this year marking the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in North America, it’s worth revisiting the good — and the bad — of how the U.S. holiday developed.

General Church

Mark Doyal. Photo courtesy of the Michigan Conference.

Churches must adapt to historic disruption

Amid the upheavals of 2020, churches have an opportunity to embody God’s Kingdom in new ways.

Mission and Ministry

Ghanaian immigrants gather for worship at Calvary United Methodist Church in Hamburg, Germany. They rent the sanctuary from the Evangelical Church, the state church of Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ask The UMC: Do United Methodists observe Sabbath on Sunday?

United Methodists do not mandate the practice of Sabbath on the seventh day, but we do call one another to practices associated with Sabbath in Judaism.

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