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A map shows the Mid Africa Central Conference, formerly known as the Congo Central Conference. The central conference is meeting July 10-13 in Kitwe, Zambia. Delegates will elect three bishops, two to succeed retiring bishops and one added to the central conference by last year’s General Conference. Graphic by Ben Ward, UM News.

Conference gets new name, adds bishop

More than 300 delegates in the Mid Africa Central Conference, previously the Congo Central Conference, are meeting in Kitwe, Zambia, and plan to elect three new bishops.

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Worship

Collins Kwasi Prempeh preaches at King Solomon United Methodist Church in Mutare, Zimbabwe, on May 18. Prempeh, the first Deaf Global Missionary, will work with communities in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia, Congo and other parts of East Africa for the next three years. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Deaf missionary welcomes, inspires community

Collins Kwasi Prempeh, the first Deaf United Methodist Global Missionary, focuses on inclusion in worship and ministries. He also works to empower the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

Central Conferences

Tafadzwa Chingosho works in his fields in Hanwa, Zimbabwe, to keep the crops free from weeds. Chingosho, who left school to pursue his dream of being a farmer, gained skills through United Methodist programs including Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission and the Yambasu Agriculture Initiative. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Church programs help young farmer pursue dream

Despite struggling academically, 18-year-old Tafadzwa Chingosho is finding success in pepper farming after being trained by The United Methodist Church.

Annual Conferences

2025 United Methodist annual conference reports

UM News posts the official summaries filed by annual conferences from around the connection. Find the latest reports on our archive page.

Latest News

Disaster Relief

On a muddy street in the Ngaliema district of Kinshasa, residents attempt to salvage some belongings after floods destroyed homes and businesses in their neighborhood following torrential rains on June 14. Four United Methodists were among the nearly 30 people who lost their lives in the floods. Photo by the Rev. Fiston Okito, UM News.

4 United Methodists killed in Congo floods

Central Conferences

Episcopal Elections of the Central Conference of The United Methodist Church. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Mid Africa Central Conference Balloting 2025

Young People

Young adults pose for a photo during a visit to the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, Korea, on June 24. The group traveled from 15 countries to participate in the 2025 Young Adults Pilgrimage of Peace in South Korea, organized in part by United Methodists. Photo by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim, UM News.

Young adults walk paths of peace in South Korea

Disaster Relief

Workers search through debris at Louise Hays Park in Kerrville, Texas, on July 6 after catastrophic floods over the Fourth of July weekend killed at least 95 people, including 27 campers and counselors at nearby Camp Mystic. Photo by the Rev. Amanda Banda, Rio Texas Conference.

Grieving church brings comfort in Texas floods

Mission and Ministry

The Rev. Birgitte French (second from right) of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference addresses a class at the Mama Lynn Center in Kindu, Congo. The center provides training to vulnerable women and girls. During a visit with other members of a United Methodist delegation from the U.S. in September, French expressed her joy at strengthening the conference’s partnership with eastern Congo. Photo by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News.

Center provides hope for women in Congo

Immigration

US Supreme Court rulings challenge church

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Local Church

The Rev. Dr. Richard Huskey died one day after being ordained an elder in full connection in The United Methodist Church. He is pictured at left upon his seminary graduation in 1974. At center, Huskey attends a 1977 rally to support an ordinance that banned discrimination in employment and housing in St. Paul, Minn. He had selected the photo to represent his time in ministry. At right is Huskey in 2014. Photos are courtesy of Huskey; the 2014 photo is via the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network.

LGBTQ activist ordained on deathbed

Evangelism

John 1:1. Trinity Sunday. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

Social media graphics from UM News

Social Concerns

From left, the Rev. Frank Wulf, the Rev. Allison Mark, Monalisa Tui’tahi, the Rev. Hannah Adair Bonner and the Rev. David Farley pose for a photo during a June 9 vigil outside the Los Angeles federal building to pray for immigrants detained inside. California-Pacific Conference Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank also was in attendance. United Methodist ministries, including the Council of Bishops and the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, are among 215 nongovernmental organizations that received a letter from a congressional committee probing their ministries with immigrant communities. Mark is president of Church and Society. Photo courtesy of California-Pacific Conference.

United Methodist ministries named in House probe

Mission and Ministry

Video screenshot by Lilla Marigza, UM News

Filipino pastors serve in the Middle East

General Church

A lawsuit over United Methodist control of Southern Methodist University in Dallas has reached the Texas Supreme Court. The South Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church filed the lawsuit in 2019 after the university’s board of trustees voted to change the university’s articles of incorporation without the jurisdictional conference’s approval. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons.

High court: Church can sue for SMU control

Commentaries

Hannah Buchanan. Photo courtesy of the author.

United Methodist pastor: I believe Jesus weeps with us

Affirmation at last: Remembering the Rev. Dr. Rick Huskey

We need a new table where all are welcome

‘Not-so-obvious introvert’ on church’s new vision

The Rev. Gabriel Banga Mususwa. Photo courtesy of the author.

An appeal to hold General Conference outside US

When the shepherd strays: Addiction and clergy wellness

Bishop Julius C. Trimble. Photo by Tessa Tillett for the Indiana Conference.

Love demands compassionate response, prophetic witness

Why our church is in trouble

Multimedia

Mission and Ministry

Filipino pastors serve in the Middle East

Seven new United Methodist pastors were recently commissioned at a consecration ceremony in Doha, Qatar. These men and women answered a call to serve the spiritual needs of the Filipinos living and working in the Middle East.

Mission and Ministry

Mary Ellis and Steve Richardson conduct a free church disability audit. Steve is chair of the Holston Conference’s Disability Concerns Committee. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Accessibility audits ensure church’s doors are open to all

Faith Sharing

Social media graphics from UM News

Mission and Ministry

Sister Alegría (right) and Sister Confianza, members of the Amigas del Señor (Women Friends of the Lord) Monastery in Limón, Honduras, pray during evening compline. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

United Methodist nuns blend spiritual traditions

Evangelism

People gather around a laptop during a “Tell Your Church’s Story” training event for churches in the Rizal Philippines Annual Conference East (RPACE) on March 22. The event was sponsored by the Taytay Philippines Communications team and United Methodist Communications. Image courtesy of the Taytay Philippines Communications team.

Philippines church communicators develop new skills

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