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Loneliness is an epidemic according to a 2023 report from the U.S. Surgeon General. The Rev. Michael Adam Beck, a Florida pastor and director of Fresh Expressions for The United Methodist Church, offers ways to change that in his new book, “Never Alone: Sharing the Gift of Community in a Lonely World.” Image by WOKANDAPIX, courtesy of Pixabay.

Can Fresh Expressions rescue the lonely?

A new book by the director of Fresh Expressions for The United Methodist Church diagnoses humanity as suffering from deep loneliness. The Rev. Michael Adam Beck believes he has the cure.

Editor's Picks

Immigration

A couple recounts the threats of violence that caused them to flee Mexico with their 1-year-old child in this 2018 file photo. The family took shelter at the Christ United Methodist Ministry Center in San Diego while seeking asylum. United Methodists continue to speak out against Trump administration policies that target undocumented immigrants. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Church advocates for at-risk immigrants

Church leaders offer words of warning, encouragement and some practical advice on what to do when ICE agents knock on church doors looking for people to deport.

Immigration

United Methodists have joined with Christian and Jewish groups in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seeking to reverse the Trump administration’s policy allowing ICE to raid houses of worship. The religious groups say the policy is an intrusion on their ministry and worship. Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq., courtesy of Pixabay.

United Methodists join suit against Trump policy

United Methodists are among the Christian and Jewish bodies suing to prevent ICE agents from intruding on their ministry with immigrants and their worship.

Annual Conferences

2024 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

Church Leadership

The Rev. Michael Adam Beck leads The United Methodist Church’s Fresh Expressions movement. In his new book, “Never Alone,” the pastor of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Ocala, Fla., says Fresh Expressions can help create community for people suffering from loneliness. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Michael Adam Beck.

From prisoner to pastor

Evangelism

The Rev. Éric Kalumba greets a church member after worship at Ambodifasika United Methodist Church in Ambodifasika, Madagascar. Kalumba, a missionary with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, is charged with planting new United Methodist churches across the island. Photo by Esdras Rakotoarivony, UM News.

Missionary strives to grow church in Madagascar

General Church

The Rev. Grace Pak leads a session on cross-cultural theology at the United Methodist Church of the Incarnation in Schaumburg, Ill., during the 2024 CRCC Madang retreat on Aug. 13, 2024. File photo by the Rev. Heewon Kim, the National Association of Korean-American United Methodist Pastors Serving Cross-Racial/Cultural Appointments.

Program strengthens cross-racial ministry

Disaster Relief

Emile Odimba, coordinator of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s disaster management office in central Congo, helps distribute supplies to flood survivors in Kinshasa, Congo. More than 3,500 people lost their homes in massive flooding last year. Photo by the Rev. Fiston Okito, UM News.

Church provides aid for Congo flood survivors

Mission and Ministry

Larry and Jane Kies pose for a photo in Vumba, one of the scenic areas outside Mutare, Zimbabwe. Behind them is a Zimbabwean indigenous tree called Musasa. As United Methodist missionaries, the couple contributed to the development of agriculture and education in the country at the church’s Nyadire Mission and Africa University. Photo courtesy of Larry Kies.

Missionaries leave mark on agriculture, education

Bishops

The Rev. Werner Philipp has been elected as a United Methodist bishop by delegates at the Germany Central Conference. Photo courtesy of Klaus Ulrich Ruof; graphic by UM News.

Germany elects Werner Philipp as bishop

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Local Church

The history of Pickett Chapel United Methodist Church in Lebanon, Tenn., goes back almost 200 years. Pickett Chapel is believed to be the oldest African American church building in the state of Tennessee. Photo from video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Historic church tells story of slavery, triumph

Evangelism

Photo by Charity Ponter; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News. Luke 6:31

Social media graphics from UM News

Social Concerns

An instructor and student share a teaching microscope at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe, in 2017. File photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

USAID freeze strikes Africa University

Mission and Ministry

Ashley Boggan, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, gifts Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, with a John Wesley bobblehead on Sept. 6, 2023, while in Italy for the European Methodist Historical Conference. Seated from left are the Rev. Matthew Laferty, director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome; Boggan, Ulrike Schuler with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and Lara Herrmann, a student and Schuler’s granddaughter. File photo courtesy of Vatican Media.

Archives and History sets big plans

General Church

The Rev. Johnsie Whitfield Cogman helps collect the offering during opening worship service of the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Fla. Overall giving to denomination-wide ministries was down in 2024, compared to 2023. But the denomination’s financial leaders are hopeful that the significantly smaller budget approved at last year’s General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., will be much more in line with the denomination’s giving capacity. File photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

Giving dips in 2024 ahead of smaller budget

Commentaries

The Rev. Dr. Tércio B. Junker Photo courtesy of the Northern Illinois Conference.

In the Wesleys’ footsteps: Reflecting on justice, faith

The Rev. Paul W. Chilcote. Photo courtesy of the author.

A refreshed Wesleyan vision is emerging

The Rev. April Casperson. Courtesy of Otterbein University.

Amendment would make church more open

The Rev. Dr. Jean Claude Masuka Maleka. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Mission can revitalize United Methodism

Churches build bridges to counter hate

The Rev. Mel West. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Mel West.

World news becomes family news

The Rev. Christopher P. Momany. Photo by Kristen Schell.

Resistance is not enough

What does hate feel like in the body?

Multimedia

Faith Sharing

Social media graphics from UM News

Illustration for Luke 6:31 is available to download and share on social media.

A portion of Hong Kong at night as seen from Victoria Peak. More than 400,000 migrant domestic workers live in Hong Kong, about five percent of the total population. They cook and clean and care for children, pets, and the elderly. They also at times endure horrible treatment. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

United Methodists support migrant workers in Hong Kong

Mission and Ministry

On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation to mark Earth Day and to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. Participants included Mary Frances Gaston (left) Emily McGinn, students at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

The year in photos

Disaster Relief

The Rev. Holly Cobb McKim, pastor of Spruce Pine United Methodist Church, reads from a list of encouragement cards sent by Sunday school children following Hurricane Helene. Screengrab by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Church plays key role in Helene recovery

Disaster Relief

Church member Sherrie Mayotte views damage to the kitchen at Pensacola United Methodist Church in Burnsville, N.C., after it was flooded by storm runoff following Tropical Storm Helene. The nearby Cane River overflowed its banks and drove a wall of water packed with mud, trees and parts of destroyed homes into the church fellowship hall and kitchen. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Hurricane Helene recovery in N.C.

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