Clergy

The Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera. Photo courtesy of Garrett Seminary.

To revitalize the church, we must invest in deacons

The United Methodist Church cannot continue to treat deacons as a second class within the ordination hierarchy.

Bishop David Graves commissions the Rev. Shadreck Kagoro alongside four other provisional elders at the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference in June. The Lewis Center for Church Leadership has released its annual report on clergy ages. With 6.5% of its elders under the age of 35, the Alabama-West Florida Conference is tied for 10th this year among the denomination’s 53 U.S. conferences in its percentage of young elders. Photo by Luke Lucas, Alabama-West Florida Conference.

Church exits influence clergy age trends

In its latest study of United Methodist clergy, the Lewis Center for Church Leadership discusses the impact of disaffiliations.

The Rev. Kathy Heustess, director of the Center for Wellbeing, meets with clients in her Knoxville office as well as in Johnson City and Chattanooga and remotely. Photo by Ben Smith, Holston Conference.

Help for clergy with disaffiliation stress

Some clergy are still struggling with decisions about their future, including whether to “stay or go” in The United Methodist Church. The Holston Conference’s Center for Wellbeing aims to help pastors and lay staff members deal with disaffiliation and other stresses. Annette Spence reports.

Mission and Ministry

Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala of the Mozambique Episcopal Area has helped launch an online giving platform to fund local projects that support community health, pastor salaries, evangelism efforts and more. File photo by João Filimone Sambo, UM News.

Mozambique conferences launch online giving

United Methodists can now support local programs and economic sustainability in the country through the new Local Advance Project giving platform.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now