UM News Digest - April 24, 2026

UM News Digest - April 24, 2026

The heroic life of the Rev. James Lawson
Secondary school transforms lives in Tanzania
Memory Café welcomes all touched by dementia

“I’m willing to die for this country, but I am not willing to kill for this country.” — The Rev. James Lawson Jr.

At top right, Lawson helps lead the March for Peace, Jobs and Freedom in Washington in 1984. At bottom right, Lawson makes a point during a 2016 interview with United Methodist News. Book cover courtesy of Random House; march by John C. Goodwin, Board of Global Ministries; portrait photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

The heroic life of the Rev. James Lawson
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — A new book documents the Rev. James Lawson Jr.’s prominent role working with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. Lawson is less well known than King and other colleagues of that era. “Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation and Love” has the potential to correct that. Jim Patterson reports.

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The Rev. Young Seon Christina Kim, founder of Global Mission Secondary School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, speaks at the school’s second graduation ceremony in November 2025. Photo by Asaph Sungura Ally, UM News.

Secondary school transforms lives in Tanzania
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (UM News) — A church-supported school in Tanzania is shaping a new generation of leaders. Global Mission Secondary School was founded in 2021 by the Rev. Young Seon Christina Kim, a missionary with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. The school has expanded over the years and gained a solid reputation as a “Christian community where worship, discipline, mentoring, service and love shape the daily lives of students,” Kim said. Asaph Sungura Ally has the story.
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South Carolina Conference
Memory Café welcomes all touched by dementia
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — In the spacious room they gather, sharing conversations and stories, eager to connect and share a meal and some joy in spite of the battle they endure. At The Memory Café at Mount Hebron United Methodist Church, people with dementia, caregivers and people eager to help are all welcome, no matter the reason. Jessica Brodie has the story.
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Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference
Gala celebrates Native American culture
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. — Native American art, music and fashion were featured at an April 16 gala organized by The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. The annual event raises money for pastoral leadership for Native American pastors. This year it took place at Reed Conference Center. There was a silent auction of artifacts and a live auction for a painting by artist Brent Greenwood which he painted onstage at the gala. Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference staff report.
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Global Ministries
Manila hospital to educate chaplains, others
ATLANTA — Students looking to serve as chaplains, spiritual care providers or pastoral counselors will soon be able to get training in the Philippines. At an April 8-10 joint meeting in Kenya, the boards of United Methodist Global Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry approved the proposal. It will connect the Methodist Spiritual Health Center of Mary Johnston Hospital in Manila with clinical pastoral education. Christie House reports.
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Council of Bishops
Bishops prepare for spring meeting
WASHINGTON — The United Methodist Council of Bishops plans to gather April 26-May 1 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, for its spring meeting — a week centered on worship, strategic visioning, transition and connectional collaboration across the worldwide church. The week’s work culminates April 30, with the passing of the gavel program and dinner. During this ceremony, Horizon Conference Bishop Ruben Saenz of the Horizon Texas Area will succeed Bishop Tracy S. Malone as Council of Bishops president. As immediate past president, Malone will stay on as an officer and member of the bishops’ executive committee.
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UM News includes in the Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not UM News staff.

Church and Society
Commentary: Reject Pentagon budget
WASHINGTON — The $1.5 trillion proposed budget for the Pentagon should not become law, the United Methodist Board of Church and Society urges in a call to action. The request by President Trump comes while massive cuts are being made to education, health care, food assistance and other community needs. “The proposed budget also includes billions in new funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection, alongside cuts to domestic priorities,” the call to action says. “More spending on militarization and deportations will not make us safer.”
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Western North Carolina Conference
Church hosts day of solidarity with immigrants
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Marvin United Methodist Church plans to host “Paths of Welcome — Prayer, Compassion, Awareness: A Day of Solidarity with Immigrants” at 3-5 p.m. U.S. Eastern time April 26. This bilingual gathering, organized by multiple Western North Carolina Conference ministries, will center on praying with and for immigrants while also educating non-immigrant neighbors.
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United Methodist Publishing House
Lovett Weems has new book, Substack
WASHINGTON — The Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr., senior consultant at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership and a distinguished professor emeritus, has launched a new free Substack newsletter, “United Methodist Focus,” which explores United Methodism’s past, present and future. He also has published “An Aura of Hope: United Methodism's Next Chapter in the United States” with Abingdon Press.
Subscribe to Weems’ Substack
Order “An Aura of Hope”