research

The Lewis Center for Church Leadership’s second study of disaffiliations is just out. Both studies look at U.S. churches leaving The United Methodist Church under Paragraph 2553 of the denomination’s Book of Discipline. This graph is part of the new study. The green bars represent the percentage of United Methodist churches by jurisdiction in 2019. The yellow bars represent the percentage of disaffiliations by jurisdiction as of the end of June 2023. The Southeastern and South Central jurisdictions together had 70 percent of disaffiliations, but that percentage is down from an earlier Lewis Center study. Graphic courtesy of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership.

Study shows shift in disaffiliations

A second Lewis Center for Church Leadership report is out, looking at how churches leaving The United Methodist Church compare to those staying.

Mission and Ministry

Kellie D. Brown is the author of “The Sound of Hope: Music as Solace, Resistance and Salvation During the Holocaust and World War II.” She discusses the book while seated in front of a stained-glass depiction of Jesus at First Broad Street United Methodist Church in Kingsport, Tenn., where she is a member. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

An academic journey turns spiritual

Telling the stories of Jewish musicians who tried to bring hope to Nazi Germany concentration camps and ghettos has led musician Kellie D. Brown in a new direction. She’s training for the ministry.

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