Churches, Denominations and Religions: UM News Digest

UM News Digest - June 1, 2026

Prison outreach • Sports ministry • Rural healthcare

“Family involvement, even after the first arrest and before the trial … just makes a significant difference. I think a lot of us would like … to realize that we hadn’t been abandoned.” — Attorney Mike Engle, a board member of the Family Reconciliation Guest House, which gives families a place to stay while visiting incarcerated loved ones.

Jennifer Ivey (left) and Carolyn Weaver relax together at the Family Reconciliation Guest House in Nashville, Tenn. The ministry provides a comfortable, safe and free place for friends and families of inmates to stay while visiting loved ones who are incarcerated. The painting on the table was created by Gary Wayne Sutton, a death row inmate whom Weaver visits regularly. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Jennifer Ivey (left) and Carolyn Weaver relax together at the Family Reconciliation Guest House in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Guest house offers community for inmates’ families
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — A nondescript home in a residential area of Nashville is a special place for the families and friends of those incarcerated at nearby state prisons. The Family Reconciliation Guest House offers free and safe lodging for people so their experience is a little easier. Jim Patterson has the story.

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East Ohio Conference
Sports ministry brings children to church
WARREN, Ohio — Since 2020, Howland United Methodist Church has invited area children to come into the building to learn how to play a sport, receive some life coaching and learn basic biblical truths. The current sport is volleyball. There are only 12 children who belong to the church, but the ministry helps Howland reach out to 150 local families. Often students who have aged out of the program come back to help with the ministry. Brett Hetherington reports.
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Global Ministries
Health centers widen outreach
ATLANTA — Chiricahua Community Health Centers in Arizona is getting a helping hand from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries’ Global Health unit. The network of health clinics provides healthcare and social assistance to a population in the U.S. that is rural, isolated and predominantly uninsured. With the loss of some federal grants last year, Chiricahua Community Health Centers was searching for ways to fill the funding gap. This tied in with Global Ministries’ This Moment Matters granting initiative. Christie R. House has the story.
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North Georgia Conference
Sermon series helps community garden blossom
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — Trinity United Methodist Church in Cartersville, north of Atlanta, has launched a new community garden. While congregants have been planning the effort for some time, the April sermon series on “Gardens of the Bible” inspired them to take their call to care for God’s creation seriously. The North Georgia Conference has the story.
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Nigeria Episcopal Area
Church breaks ground on new clinic
BANSUWE, Nigeria — The Nigeria Episcopal Area has broken ground on a new healthcare facility in the Iware District of Taraba State, as part of efforts to improve access to quality medical services in rural communities. The project was officially launched by Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel as part of his vision to construct at least two clinics in each of the five annual conferences in the episcopal area. The Rev. Filibus Bakari Auta has the story.
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Pew Research Center
What political issues do clergy preach about?
WASHINGTON — Two-thirds of U.S. adults who regularly attend religious services say they have heard their clergy speak about at least one political or social issue in the past few months, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Of the seven topics named by Pew, abortion, Israel and homosexuality were among the most commonly cited. Becka A. Alper reports.
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Immigration Law and Justice Network
Online reading of immigration play
TUCSON, Ariz. — A dramatic reading of “Los que regresan (Those Who Return)” by renowned Mexican playwright Hugo Salcedo will be streamed on Facebook Live from the Mexican Consulate in Tucson at 8:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on June 8. The play spotlights the experiences of undocumented immigrants who are self-deporting from the United States and are forced to return to dangerous conditions in their home countries. The dramatized reading will be performed in Spanish. The Immigration Law and Justice Network plans to create a discussion/study guide for groups who wish to meet after they view the play to discuss the themes.
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