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Photo courtesy of First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth; graphic by UM News.

Pastor’s ministry had length and depth

The Rev. Lamar Smith worked into his 90s as a United Methodist pastor, touching lives all along the way.

Editor's Picks

General Church

After a season of church disaffiliations, United Methodists are still bringing disputes to civil courts. In the past week, the Baltimore-Washington Conference filed a federal lawsuit to defend the denomination’s trust clause. Meanwhile, Highland Park United Methodist has filed its response to the Horizon Texas Conference lawsuit. Photo illustration by Ray Shrewsberry, Pixabay.

Court cases test United Methodist governance

The Baltimore-Washington Conference filed a federal lawsuit against a church to defend The United Methodist Church’s trust clause. Meanwhile, developments continue in the Texas lawsuit involving Highland Park United Methodist.

Global Health

Judith Yanga Osongo (left), director of communications for the East Congo Episcopal Area, raises awareness about Ebola prevention measures at a United Methodist church in Beni, Congo, in the Kivu Annual Conference. This grassroots communications campaign, jointly supported by United Methodist Communications and Global Ministries, includes distribution of posters and essential prevention messages in the areas affected by the Bundibugyo virus outbreak. Photo courtesy of the East Congo Episcopal Area.

Church builds on Ebola response in Congo

The United Methodist Church’s health coordination team is constructing a 50-bed treatment center and reaching thousands through a large-scale community response.

Annual Conferences

Annual Conference Reports

2026 United Methodist annual conference reports

UM News posts the official summaries filed by annual conferences from around the connection. Find the latest reports on our archive page.

Latest News

Church Leadership

The Rev. Dale Caldwell resigned from elected office and now faces a United Methodist complaint over accusations of inappropriate behavior with women and ethics violations in his state governmental role. He also is suspended from pastoral duties while the church complaint is under review. He denies the allegations. File photo by Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.

Former lieutenant governor suspended from ministry

The skyline of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. United Methodists from around the globe are coming to the Canadian city for the denomination’s first-of-its-kind Leadership Gathering, scheduled for Oct. 20-24, intended to help the denomination discern its next steps. Photo by Tamsintj, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Countdown begins to Leadership Gathering

Disaster Relief

Moïse Mwango Numbalanga (center in white shirt), coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Disaster Management Office in the Bukavu District, walks through the field of ruins in the Irambo neighborhood in Bukavu, Congo, to speak with United Methodist disaster survivors. More than 70 households from Ibanda United Methodist Church lost everything in the overnight fire. Photo courtesy of the Disaster Management Office of the East Congo Episcopal Area.

United Methodists lose homes in Congo fire

Social Concerns

Graphic by Ben Ward, photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Atlanta: Connection across difference

Annual Conferences

Asbury United Methodist Church’s Wheelchair Ramp Ministry assists community members in need in Bossier City, La. Asbury is one of the churches benefiting from the Louisiana Conference’s new Jubilee Initiative, which will invest $15 million into local churches to help erase debt and support mission and ministry. Photo courtesy of Bryleigh Smith Photography.

Louisiana Conference invests $15M in churches

Mission and Ministry

Living the vision

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LaShanda Evans sings during the Fusion 2026 Worship Music Conference at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Evans is the worship team coordinator for United Methodist Discipleship Ministries, which sponsored the event. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Fusion 2026

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The Rev. Anjie Peek Rivers officiates at a baptism Aug. 9 for the Nichols family at Atlanta’s Eastside Church, one of nine small, thriving United Methodist congregations featured in a new report by Wesleyan Impact Partners. In “Flourishing Small Congregations,” the Texas-based nonprofit challenges The United Methodist Church to see small churches as assets. Eastside also celebrated its 15th anniversary Aug. 9. Photo by Karina Aragon-Buchanan, Eastside Church.

How small congregations can flourish

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Social Concerns

Members of MARCHA discuss priorities during their online annual meeting, held July 31-Aug. 1. The caucus replaced its in-person meeting with a virtual gathering due to concerns that members of the Hispanic-Latino community could be detained while traveling under the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Advocacy for immigrant communities will remain a priority for the group, members said. Photo composition by the Rev. Gustavo Vasquez, UM News.

Hispanic-Latino caucus reviews mission, structure

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Mission and Ministry

Dr. Gustave Ngoy, head of the non-malaria program for the Tanganyika Episcopal Area’s medical coordination team, speaks with Cathérine Shabani during a consultation at a mobile clinic in Kalemie, Congo. The 60-year-old mother of 11 children and a member of Jerusalem (United Methodist) Church received a free health checkup as part of a medical initiative funded by Bishop Nelson Kalombo Ngoy to benefit annual conference delegates and vulnerable populations. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

In medical desert, pop-up clinics help Congolese

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Bishops Gaspar J. Domingos, Ande I. Emmanuel and Nelson Kalombo Ngoy follow proceedings during the Africa College of Bishops opening worship service held at First United Methodist Church in Monrovia, Liberia. The church, which was built in 1822, is the oldest Protestant church in Africa. Photo courtesy of Liberia Annual Conference Communications.

African bishops celebrate growth, ecumenism

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Commentaries

The Rev. Dr. Lloyd T. Nyarota and The Rev. Albert Otshudi Longe. Photos courtesy of the authors.

An invitation to reflect on the denomination’s future

Be brave enough to let the light find you

The Rev. Lindsey B. Freeman. Photo by Adam Bowers.

Walking the journey of calling

This blog appears in the Blogs and Commentaries section of UM News. UM News is a ministry of United Methodist Communications.

Suicide is a public health crisis. How can faith communities respond?

James H. Salley. Photo courtesy of the author.

James Laney had big impact on Africa University

Remembering 9/11 at John Street church

The Rev. Paul T. Stallsworth. Photo by Krystal Baker.

Getting beyond the traditionalism of liberalism

An upswell of joy

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Multimedia

Graphic by Ben Ward, photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

UM News Podcast Season One

Coming September 28: Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News.

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Pastor Dean Roush (right) and volunteers from Mora United Methodist Church in Minnesota sing with residents of a nursing home as part of the church’s community outreach. A free bread giveaway and weekly coffee chat also provide opportunities for church members to be in fellowship with their community. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Church finds joy in bread, coffee and communion

The Rev. Andrea Byer Thomas makes therapeutic soaps and creams to soothe skin allergies. Photos courtesy of Handmade Luxuries.

A ministry of healing

Disaster Relief

Lahaina United Methodist Church on Maui lost its sanctuary in the deadly Maui wildfires, but its congregation never lost its faith. Photo by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

3 years after wildfire, hope spreads in Lahaina

Mission and Ministry

The Rev. Betsy Singleton Snyder offers a blessing to Julia Sugarbaker, a mini goldendoodle, at Pinnacle View United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. Snyder and co-author Gayle Fiser have written a book on how churches can start successful pet ministries. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

How churches can adopt their own pet ministries