Mission and Ministry

Local Church
Five-year-old Crystal Buta participates in a Zumba class at Chisipiti United Methodist Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. The women’s organization at Chisipiti launched the all-ages dance classes to foster community and combat rising stress and anxiety. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Drawing closer to God through dance

United Methodist church in Zimbabwe hosts Zumba classes to help community members shake off stress and connect physically and spiritually.
Theology and Education
Africa University board members and staff celebrate during a dinner to mark the end of the March meetings at the United Methodist-related university in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The university introduced new board members and welcomed them to the institution during the event. Photo courtesy of Africa University Advancement and Public Affairs Office.

Africa University gets first AME member on development board

Monifa McKnight hopes to provide a bridge between United Methodists and the African Methodist Episcopal Church for the 34-year-old Pan-African institution.
Mission and Ministry
Bishop João Sambo of Mozambique (right) and Bishop Emmanuel Sinzohagera of Burundi (center) distribute cans of vegetable oil at the Musenyi camp in Burundi. The bishops were among a United Methodist delegation who visited the camp in March to offer physical and spiritual support to refugees fleeing conflict in eastern Congo. Global Missionary Abro Patrick stands to the left. Photo courtesy of the communications department of the Burundi-Rwanda Episcopal Area.

Church supports Congolese refugees in Burundi

The United Methodist Church, with support from UMCOR, provides vital infrastructure and food to the Musenyi camp, which has doubled its population because of ongoing conflicts in eastern Congo.
Mission and Ministry
The Rev. Pharis Harvey, former executive director of the North American Coalition for Human Rights in Korea, speaks at the International Solidarity for Democracy seminar hosted by the Korea Democracy Foundation at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, in 2016. Photo courtesy of the Korea Democracy Foundation, Mindle News.

Remembering Pharis Harvey, global human rights advocate

A United Methodist pastor and missionary, Harvey helped bring international attention to South Korea’s pro-democracy movement and spent decades advancing labor rights worldwide. He died April 16 at age 91.

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