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2019: The year in UM News photos

ABOVE: Jorge João Novo lifts a wooden pole into place to help secure an emergency tarp over his home after the roof was peeled off by Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

The year 2019 was an eventful one for The United Methodist Church. Photographers from UM News, the denomination's official news service, documented a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.

Ann Hammond looks out an overgrown window of a home she hopes to turn into a recovery house for women living with addiction. The house is on the grounds of United Methodist Temple in Clarksburg, W.Va. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Jazz artist Milkshake Mayfield plays the trumpet during a gospel and jazz brunch at the Black Methodists for Church Renewal meeting in Atlanta. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Sharon Austin, left, and Rachel Sumner, front, delegates from the Florida Conference, raise their arms in prayer during a day of prayer at the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.
Jesús, a migrant from Michoacán state in Western Mexico, tries to shield his 1-year-old daughter, Kataleya, from a cold drizzle falling at the tent encampment where they are living at the foot of the Paso del Norte Bridge in Juárez, Mexico. The family, who fled their home due to street violence, has been living in the makeshift camp just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, for two months while waiting their turn to seek asylum in the U.S. Michoacán is among five states in Mexico given the highest-risk “do not travel” warning by the U.S. State Department. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Mary Eben recounts the eight months she spent hiding in a forest following violence between rebel forces and the Cameroonian government. Her church, Jerusalem United Methodist Church in Duala, Cameroon, has assisted her throughout her ordeal. Photo by Isaac Broune, UM News. Bishops confer over the issue of whether the legislative committee can refer items to the denomination's Judicial Council for review during the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. Clockwise from lower left are Bishops Thomas Bickerton, John Schol, David Bard, Julius C. Trimble and Cynthia Fierro Harvey. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News. The Rev. Ingrid McIntyre shares the story of the micro house community for homeless respite care under construction at Glencliff United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar tells members of the United Methodist Immigration Task Force, meeting in El Paso, Texas, that U.S. immigration policies have brought the country to "one of the darkest points in American history for our generation." Escobar serves the 16th congressional district in Texas. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Following a vote to strengthen church policies against homosexuality, police prevent the Rev. Elizabeth Tay McVicker from entering the St. Louis convention center that hosted the 2019 General Conference of The United Methodist Church. Delegates voted to approve the Traditional Plan, which strengthens penalties for LGBTQIA clergy and prohibits same sex weddings. McVicker and several other protestors were removed by police, but no arrests were reported. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Survivors of Cyclone Idai make their way past downed power lines outside Beira, Mozambique. Residents were breaking up the pavement on an abandoned section of road in order to salvage the aggregate stones which they hoped to sell in order to raise funds to help repair their homes. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

From left, United Methodist Committee on Relief volunteer Helen Quirocho, Magnolia Becker and UMCOR’s Judy Lewis sift through wildfire wreckage in what is left of Becker’s home in the Truncas canyon area of Malibu, Calif. Photo by Doug Lewis.
Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi urges members and guests of Black Methodists for Church Renewal to "stay woke" during her sermon at Ben Hill United Methodist Church in Atlanta. "Stay woke" is a call to be aware of racial and social justice issues and is closely associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

LEFT: A sketch artist from General Commission on Religion and Race interprets events during the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.

Following the announcement of a Judicial Council ruling that found several parts of the Traditional Plan unconstitutional, church officials confer during a pause in a plenary session of the 2019 General Conference of The United Methodist Church, held in St. Louis. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.
Rick Wolcott (far right), communications director for the East Ohio Conference, monitors East Ohio social media and conference events from the press box during the 2019 General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.
Carol Scott from the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, New York Conference, kneels in the prayer labyrinth room following the passage of the Traditional Plan during the final day of the 2019 General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.
Community members gather for a weekly meal and prayer support in the courtyard at Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church in Huntington, W.Va. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A student at the United Methodist sewing center in Kamina, Congo, practices what she has learned from teacher Ilunga Nday Lebon (rear). Until recently, clerical shirts, United Methodist Women blouses and altar cloths were ordered from Lubumbashi, 370 miles from Kamina. Today, the items are sewn locally, saving time and money. Photo by Betty Kazadi Musau, UM News.
The Rev. Julius Sarwolo Nelson kicks the ball during a soccer match between youth and young adults in Monrovia, Liberia. A scholarship fund to help young people in rural communities has been named after Nelson, who is an elder at Refuge United Methodist Church. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News.
Fishermen return to Mbour, Senegal, on the Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Isaac Broune, UM News.
Wayne Worth (right) embraces Roger outside his home in Fisher, W.Va. Worth, a member of United Methodist Temple in Clarksburg, was passing out flyers containing information about local resources for anyone struggling with addiction when he met Roger. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Jeffrey Warren of the Upper New York Conference speaks in favor of full inclusion for LGBTQ persons in the life of The United Methodist Church during the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. He received an emotional response from delegates and observers. The special conference was called in an attempt to help the denomination deal with its longstanding differences over sexuality. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Clockwise from top left: Ruined cornstalks stand in a flooded field following Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. The storm ruined much of the corn crop before it could be harvested. Isabel João shucks corn covered in mud as she tries to salvage something of her crop, which was killed when her fields flooded during Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. Luise Marufo António picks her way through her ruined cornfield, which was destroyed by flooding during Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. She is carrying a sack containing some of the stunted and rotting corn with which she hoped to feed her family. Muddy ears of corn, many of them stunted and rotting after being submerged in the floodwaters of Cyclone Idai, lay drying in the sun after being salvaged by the António family in Buzi, Mozambique. Photos by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Isabel João (right) and Maria Lidia António salvage what they can of their corn crop, which was killed before it matured when their field was flooded by Cyclone Idai in Buzi, Mozambique. “Hunger is the number one problem now,” Joao said. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A young girl spreads fish to dry outside her family’s home in a floating village on the Tonle Sap River near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries is planning a program, called Advancing Responsible Khmer, to help prevent human trafficking and to help its survivors feed themselves, educate their children, and afford family homes. Photo by the Rev. Thomas Kim, UM News.
A young boy arranges a tarp to protect his family's tent from rain at a makeshift encampment in Juárez, Mexico, for people waiting to make asylum claims in the U.S. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Kudzai Chingwe wades through floodwaters at the Mutambara Mission Center in the Chimanimani District of Eastern Zimbabwe. Photo by the Rev. Juliet Mwarumba.
Portia Kasuso, 11, tries her new hand-pedalled wheelchair during a United Methodist revival service in Murewa, Zimbabwe. The gift of the wheelchair was facilitated by the church’s Zimbabwe West Conference. Photo by the Rev. Taurai Emmanuel Maforo, UM News.
Andy, a recovering addict, gets a smooch from guard dog Tundra while feeding chickens at Brookside Farm, part of the Jacob's Ladder rehabilitation program in Aurora, W.Va. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A stained-glass wall made out of prayers reflect the thoughts of attendees of the 2019 General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.
The United Methodist cross and flame rises above Morning Star United Methodist Church in Las Cruces, N.M. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Visiting clergy from Freetown, Kenema and Kailahun, Sierra Leone, join the Rev. Judith Banya (standing right) to pray for Juana Jusu, who was partially paralyzed after an insect bite. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UM News. Following a vote to strengthen church policies against homosexuality, police prevent a protestor from entering the St. Louis convention center that hosted the Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church. Several protestors were removed by police, but no arrests were reported. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News. A U.S. flag flutters in the breeze outside the Eli Jackson Cemetery in San Juan, Texas. Descendants of the Jackson family are fighting to save the cemetery from being destroyed by a section of the proposed border wall along the Rio Grande. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News. Damion Mutinhiri shows off one of the rabbits he and other members of the Deaf community have been raising in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The Ministry with Women, Youth and Children assisted the group with capital to start the rabbit-rearing project. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News. Isela Maria Fuentes and her 16-month-old daughter, Maria de los Angeles Fuentes Curado, have returned to El Buen Samaritano, a shelter for migrants run by the Methodist Church of Mexico in Juárez, after their initial interview with U.S. immigration authorities about their asylum claim. The mother and child, who fled violence in El Salvador, have been living at the shelter for three months. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News. United Methodist Women in Liberia display signs to protest against the rising wave of violence against women and girls in Liberia. The peaceful demonstration took place during the group’s 72nd annual session, held Jan. 21-27 in Marshall, Liberia. Photo by E Julu Swen, UM News. Workers test a lighting grid for the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Hemedi Ndjadi, age 17, has been part of the Kindu United Methodist Orphanage in East Congo for three years, where he is learning carpentry skills to become a workshop manager. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.
United Methodist Women coordinator Ethel Sandy talks to students at Albert Academy — the only United Methodist boys high school in Freetown, Sierra Leone — about the dangers of cheating on exams. Former students of the school were among 14 facing court action in June for examination malpractice. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UM News.
Natalia Inacio stands amid the rubble of her home which collapsed when the mud bricks used for its walls became saturated by wind-driven rain during Cyclone Idai in Gondola, Mozambique. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Trees that were shredded by Cyclone Idai stand along the seawall in Beira, Mozambique. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church in San Juan, Texas, is known as the first Spanish-speaking Protestant Church in the Rio Grande Valley. The chapel held services until it was flooded in 2008. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Maimouna Diaby, 18, learns to sew in a class at Canaan United Methodist Church in Mbour, Senegal. The church is part of two mission initiatives in Senegal and Cameroon that will become part of the Côte d’Ivoire Conference. Photo by Isaac Broune, UM News.
Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa (center, with foot on ball) celebrates with youth teams after playing an exhibition soccer game together at Avonlea Primary School in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Episcopal Area has put a focus on sports and fitness as a way to get members healthy and bring new souls to Christ. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.
The Rev. Arturo Gonzélez Sandouzl (second from right) and other members of the United Methodist Immigration Task Force pray with Isabél and her 16-month-old daughter Kassandra at a makeshift camp near the bridge leading to the U.S. in Matamoros, Mexico. The mother and daughter traveled from Nicaragua in hopes of seeking asylum in the U.S. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
United Methodist deaconess Bulelwa Ndedwa leads a march against gender-based violence in Durban, South Africa. The march began with prayer at a United Methodist church and ended in downtown Bizana in the Makukhanye District, Eastern Cape. Photo by Nandipha Mkwalo, UM News.
The singing of "This Little Light of Mine" opens "Conversations at the Crossroads," a town hall meeting in St. Louis. The gathering on the eve of the 2019 General Conference featured openly gay delegates and others supporting full inclusion of LGBTQ people in The United Methodist Church. The Rev. Jay Williams (center) led the singing and also moderated a panel discussion. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UM News.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A liturgical dancer waves a flag during worship at the 2019 General Conference of The United Methodist Church, held in St. Louis, Missouri. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News. Delegate Edwin Exiomo of the Philippines prays during a a day set aside for prayer at the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News. Jim (left), a recovering addict, talks about chores to be done with Mark Utterback, director of farming at Brookside Farm, part of the Jacob's Ladder rehabilitation program in Aurora, W.Va. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News. Jesús and his pregnant wife, Mariana, care for their 1-year-old daughter, Kataleya, at a tent camp in Juárez, Mexico, where they and dozens of other migrants are waiting for an appointment with U.S. immigration officials to request asylum in the U.S. The young family has been living in a two-person camping tent for two months. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Almoco Julice (right) describes the damage caused to his family's home by Cyclone Idai in Gondola, Mozambique. He has used plastic sheeting to temporarily patch the home's mud walls. During the height of the storm Julice and his family fled to the nearby Gondola Training Center, a United Methodist school for church leaders to seek better shelter. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Sarah Ambadiang sings during worship at Blessing United Methodist Church, where she serves as a lay preacher and parish secretary. She is national president of the Cameroon United Methodist Women’s Association. Photo by Isaac Broune, UM News.
The Rev. Ross Thornton (right) visits with Ronald South while handing out water and praying with clients of the city mission in Huntington, W.Va. Thornton, a 2018 winner of Denman Award for evangelism, runs a street ministry and pastors Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church in Huntington. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Credits:

UM News photography staff