GCAH

A 1961 map shows the location of churches and the borders of episcopal areas within the Central Jurisdiction, which the Methodist Church established to segregate Black members from the wider church. The union that formed The United Methodist Church in 1968 dissolved the Central Jurisdiction. During the Council of Bishops spring meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., bishops explored the legacy of the Central Jurisdiction as denominational leaders consider changes to the geographic jurisdictional system. Image courtesy of Archives and History.

Lessons from past shape jurisdictions’ future

United Methodist bishops learned more about the legacy of the segregated Central Jurisdiction and history of the jurisdictional system, as leaders contemplate possible changes to that system.

Theology and Education

Centered on the moment John Wesley “submitted to be more vile" in spreading the love of God to all people, Ashley Boggan argues in her new book that Wesleyan “vile-tality” is at the core of who we are as Methodists. Cover art courtesy of Abingdon Press.

Being ‘vile’ is a good thing, historian says

A return to roots for The United Methodists Church means being a countercultural movement again, says the top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.

Church History

Ashley Boggan, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, gifts Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, with a John Wesley bobblehead on Sept. 6, 2023, while in Italy for the European Methodist Historical Conference. Seated from left are the Rev. Matthew Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome; Boggan, Ulrike Schuler with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and Lara Herrmann, a student and Schuler’s granddaughter. File photo courtesy of Vatican Media.

Archives and History sets big plans

Ambitious plans are brewing at the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, in a time when budgets in The United Methodist Church are being cut. Top executive Ashley Boggan talks about those plans and raising the money to pay for them.

General Agencies

Ashley Boggan, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, speaks in a video being produced by United Methodist Communications. Archives and History’s partnership with United Methodist Communications enables the history agency to share its resources using up-to-date production technology. Photo by Stacey Hagewood, United Methodist Communications.

Communications agency restructures for church’s new day

With its budget cut by more than half, United Methodist Communications has restructured with plans to serve the denomination’s needs into the future.

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