🌈 E-ssentials: Happy Pride! A Message from the Moderator

Happy Pride: A Message of Apology, Healing, and Radical Belonging [Image credit: The United Church of Canada]   In 2025, The United Church of Canada offered an apology to 2S and LGBTQIA+ people and communities—naming the real harm caused through words, actions, silence, and systems that failed to protect and affirm God’s beloved people. The Moderator's Pride Message reflects on that apology—not as an ending, but as a beginning. A threshold into deeper healing, accountability, and transformation. Pride is more than celebration. It is remembrance. It is resistance. It is a witness to the sacred truth that every identity rooted in love and authenticity is a divine gift. Radical belonging is not optional—it is at the heart of the Gospel. May we continue the work of becoming a church that learns, acts with courage, and lives out love in word and deed. Happy Pride.  Watch the Moderator's Pride Message This Week! Living Into the 2S and LGBTQIA+ Apology Webinar [Image credit: The United Church of Canada] Join us on June 9 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET for an online session exploring how communities of faith can live into The United Church of Canada’s 2025 apology to 2S and LGBTQIA+ communities. Participants will reflect on the apology, hear stories from communities already engaging this work, and explore practical ways to embody the apology in worship, community life, and public witness. The session will also offer space for conversation, reflection, and identifying meaningful next steps in local contexts. Register now on CHURCHx. Learn more and register on CHURCHx Living into Radical Welcome: Rainbow Refugee Sponsorship [Image credit: The United Church of Canada]   To mark World Refugee Day, The United Church of Canada is hosting Living into Radical Welcome: Rainbow Refugee Sponsorship on June 18 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET. This interactive webinar will invite communities of faith, sponsorship groups, and justice-seeking individuals to learn how refugee sponsorship can be an expression of compassion, solidarity, and faithful discipleship. Participants will hear stories from communities already involved in sponsorship, learn about the refugee sponsorship process and the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program, and explore the unique realities faced by LGBTQIA+ refugees around the world. The webinar will also highlight how sponsorship can deepen a congregation’s commitment to justice, inclusion, and radical welcome. Speakers will be announced soon. Learn more and register on CHURCHx Mission and Service Stories: Created and Loved [Image credit: Juan Moyano] Partners work across Canada and globally to create safe, inclusive, and affirming spaces for 2S and LGBTQIA+ individuals facing discrimination and violence. Rooted in the belief that everyone is unconditionally loved by God, this vital work ranges from local community care and safe spaces to life-saving international advocacy. Ultimately, these efforts help nurture communities of true belonging where all people can live safely, authentically, and with dignity. Read the Mission and Service Story New Blog! Something Is Stirring in Maputo—and I Am a Witness [Image credit: Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Japhet Ndhlovu] Rev. Dr. Japhet Ndhlovu recently returned to Maputo, Mozambique, where faith leaders, activists, theologians, and allies from across Africa gathered to continue conversations on human sexuality, gender diversity, and inclusion in the church. Building on work that began in 2024, participants shared stories, explored scripture together, and reflected on signs of progress—from changing attitudes and stronger partnerships to growing support for LGBTQIA+ people of faith. “Progress is being made,” writes Ndhlovu. “Not loudly. In changed tones of sermons. In revised seminary curricula. In a parent who left a dialogue saying, ‘I understand my child for the first time.’” Read the full blog on hope, courage, and faithful dialogue across borders. Read the full blog The United Church Bookstore: Love is Louder!  [Image credit: The United Church of Canada]   Our exclusive “Love is Louder” Pride t-shirt is a simple way to show your support for the 2S and LGBTQIA+ community while helping spread a message that matters. Get yours today—and let's make our voices louder together. Show your Pride today! Worship Resources See our Worship Resources for upcoming Sundays and special celebrations. Union Sunday - June 7, 2026 Pride Sunday - June 7, 2026 Second after Pentecost - June 7, 2026 Indigenous Day of Prayer - June 14, 2026 Third after Pentecost - June 14, 2026 UN World Refugee Day - June 20, 2026 Fourth after Pentecost - June 21, 2026  Canadian Multiculturalism Day - June 27, 2026 For more inspiring worship ideas and resources, subscribe to GatheringWorship.ca. Important Note: The images included in this newsletter are protected by copyright. While we encourage you to share the newsletter itself, please don't copy or use the images independently. Thanks for your understanding! Facebook Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn

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ABWIM Newsletter

The ABWIM Newsletter Volume 3! Dear Sisters and Brothers,    The ABWIM Newsletter Volume 3, is now available and it is a vibrant celebration of the gifts and callings of American Baptist Women in Ministry. In this issue, our contributors continue open their hearts and lives, sharing powerful stories and insights obtained during their ministry service. Together, these stories offer encouragement, wisdom, and inspiration for all who are discerning, living into, or supporting a woman’s call to ministry today. We invite you to:   - Subscribe and share the newsletter with your congregation, colleagues, and friends.   - Submit stories, events, and reflections that may be featured in future issues.   - Engage with us as we continue to build a Spirit-led community of women in ministry.  ABCUSA ABWIM Newsletter Vol. 3 Please send all replies to: tmwim@abc-usa.org Sincerely, American Baptist Churches USA

UM News Digest - June 1, 2026

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. 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. Read story 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. Read story   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. Read story   ADVERTISEMENT 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. Read story 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. Read story To donate 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.  Read story ADVERTISEMENT 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. Watch livestream Learn more Photo by Philippe Kituka Lolonga, UM News Church urges vigilance amid Ebola outbreak Read story Photo by Mike DuBose, United Women in Faith How churchgoers can start a grassroots campaign Read story Wednesday, June 3 - Friday, June 5 Mississippi Annual Conference Wednesday, June 3 - Saturday, June 6 Indiana Annual Conference More United Methodist events UMNews.org | UM News Photos