NEWS AND FEATURES
McClain, theologian and civil rights leader, dies at 82
WASHINGTON (UM News) — The Rev. William Bobby McClain, theologian, civil rights leader and champion for the United Methodist worship book "Songs of Zion," died on Nov. 18 after a short illness. He was 82. Kathy L. Gilbert reports.
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The making of Thanksgiving in the US
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (UM News) — The origin story of the U.S. Thanksgiving is more myth than reality. With this year marking the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival in North America, historians see an opportunity to revisit the good — and the bad — of how the holiday developed. Heather Hahn has the story.
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A manifesto for saving historic church buildings
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (UM News) — The Rev. Thomas Frank is a longtime United Methodist elder and professor, and he's author of a standard text on church polity. He's also a historic preservationist. His latest book is a self-described manifesto titled "Historic Houses of Worship in Peril." Sam Hodges reports.
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Planning for a more inclusive church
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (UM News) — United Methodists held a virtual Inclusiveness Conference that focused on church efforts to dismantle racism, welcome LGBTQ people and cross international boundaries. One bishop said the church could lose more members over the issue of race than LGBTQ inclusion. Heather Hahn reports.
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Church marks end of measles, Ebola outbreaks
KINDU, Congo (UM News) — As Congo continues to battle COVID-19, The United Methodist Church is celebrating two wins: the end of both a second Ebola outbreak this year and a measles epidemic that killed more than 7,000 children. Chadrack Tambwe Londe reports.
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Protocol legislation heads top court agenda
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — The United Methodist Judicial Council expects to decide whether it has the jurisdiction to consider the constitutionality of legislation for a proposed plan for separating the denomination. In ongoing virtual meetings, the denomination's top court will conduct business for the first time since the pandemic began. Linda Bloom reports.
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For UMCOR, 2020 is one long emergency
ATLANTA (UM News) — In a year when one disaster seemed to follow another and the pandemic and other health concerns took center stage, the United Methodist Committee on Relief's longtime investment in training and support — both in the U.S. and globally — is paying off. Linda Bloom reports.
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Bishop Yambasu agriculture initiative announced
Reaching 1 million children to save lives
Liberian pastors preach about drug abuse
MONROVIA, Liberia (UM News) — The United Methodist Church is taking aim at substance abuse in rural parts of the country. As part of a new campaign, pastors in the Gbarnga District will spend about five minutes during every sermon talking about drug and alcohol addiction. E Julu Swen reports.
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In Honduras, facing tragedy with solidarity
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — The passage of Hurricane Eta through Honduras left devastation and despair among the Honduran population, endangering more than 1.8 million residents and leading to more than 70 deaths. Now, United Methodist churches are mobilizing to provide food, supplies and shelter. The Rev. Gustavo Vasquez reports.
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Church cares for Deaf community amid pandemic
HARARE, Zimbabwe (UM News) — Deaf church members in Zimbabwe and Liberia have adequate resources and information to fight the coronavirus thanks to United Methodist ministries. Eveline Chikwanah and E Julu Swen report.
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NBC, Virginia Wesleyan
Dean resigns after post about Biden supporters
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A dean at United Methodist-related Virginia Wesleyan University has resigned after a Facebook post that said supporters of President-elect Joe Biden are "ignorant, anti-American and anti-Christian." The school announced that Paul Ewell, a professor of management, business and economics, had stepped down. He had earlier resigned as dean of Virginia Wesleyan's Global Campus. David K. Li and Caitlin Fichtel report for NBC.
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Read Virginia Wesleyan statements
South Georgia Advocate, United Methodist Communications
Hunters help feed hungry
VIENNA, Ga. — The food ministry at Vienna United Methodist Church has freezers full of venison, courtesy of deer hunters. Hunters in Georgia and around the country work with organizations such as Hunters for the Hungry to help with food ministries. Kara Witherow reports on the Georgia ministry and United Methodist Communications has a video about hunters in North Carolina who provide meat to nonprofits.
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Texas Conference
Churches keep faith with Thanksgiving tradition
KATY, Texas — Three Texas Conference churches are part of the Katy Thanksgiving Feast, an ecumenical effort that since 2003 has provided Thanksgiving meals to needy families. COVID-19 has forced changes, but the feast will go on. Katy First United Methodist Church has assembled 1,000 cans of cranberry sauce and 500 jars of turkey gravy. Lindsay Peyton reports.
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United Methodist Communications
Worshipping over a meal
GRAFTON, Mass. — Sitting around a table instead of facing forward in rows of pews makes for a different kind of worship experience, known as table ministry. At Simple Church, anyone can reserve a place setting and join in a meal, short sermon and group conversation. Crystal Caviness reports.
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Virginia Conference
Conference plans memorial for unmarked graves
PURCELLVILLE, Va. — Virginia Conference leaders announced that construction will begin on a memorial to 73 people in unmarked graves in a cemetery established in 1847 that is now part of Hillsboro United Methodist Church. The remains of African Americans, mulattos, Native Americans and Europeans are buried in this cemetery. The conference made the announcement in an open letter to the Hillsboro community.
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New 2020 annual conference reports posted
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — United Methodist News is posting 2020 annual conference reports. New this week are South Carolina and Virginia.
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North Texas Conference
UMW fills Thanksgiving baskets
DALLAS — All 99 United Methodist Women units across the North Texas Conference are contributing to Thanksgiving baskets for needy families. They'll be handed out by Dallas Bethlehem Center, a United Methodist-affiliated nonprofit. The need is even greater this year because of COVID-19. The conference has the story.
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East Ohio Conference
Church adds prayer wall
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — Inspired by a pastor's trip to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, members of West Austintown First United Methodist Church have constructed a prayer wall in their sanctuary. Members of the congregation wrote prayers on planks of wood stained in seven different colors for the project. Brett Hetherington has the story.
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Kentucky Conference
Church assists after apartment fire
GREENUP, Ky. — When fire broke out in a historic apartment building, the members at Greenup First United Methodist Church didn't hesitate to step up to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus. Alan Wild has the story.
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Holston Conference
Gift boosts church camps
ALCOA, Tenn. — The Holston Foundation announced that it would give $150,000 to help Holston Conference Camp and Retreat Ministries, the largest gift to any ministry during the foundation's 40-year history. The foundation has the story.
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South Carolina Conference
New digital archives connect with church past
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — For years, if people wanted to dig into the full tomes of South Carolina's Methodist history, they needed to travel to United Methodist-related Wofford College and slide carefully preserved old books and papers from their shelves, or pore through images on a microfilm reader. Now, all they need is available with the click of a button. Jessica Brodie reports.
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The Tennessean
Meharry president submits resume to Biden team
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dr. James Hildreth, president of Meharry Medical College, was asked to submit his resume to President-elect Joe Biden's transition team for consideration as part of the incoming administration's coronavirus response. Meharry is the only historically Black medical school related to The United Methodist Church. Brett Kelman has the story.
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COMMENTARIES
UM News includes in the Daily Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not the UM News staff.
UM & Global
Challenges of virtual General Conference
BROOKFIELD, Wis. — David W. Scott addresses the challenges of a virtual, or as he prefers to call it, a "distributed" General Conference. Those include lack of access to reliable, high-bandwidth internet, he writes in UM & Global, the blog he curates for United Methodist Professors of Mission. His latest post includes links to earlier essays in which he considers the consequences if the denomination's lawmaking assembly is again postponed.
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RESOURCES
Virginia Conference
Event looks at Gospel in post-Christian times
GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Virginia Conference's Bishop Sharma D. Lewis will join in "Being Formed by the Gospel in a Post-Christian Age," a Dec. 4-5 online event organized by the ecumenical LARCUM Covenant in Virginia. LARCUM stands for Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Methodist. The scholar Phillip Cary will be the presenter. Registration is $25.
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