Daily Digest: January 30, 2019

"Each of us on the allocations team has been painfully aware of the significant changes that are ahead, of the important ministry that could be lost, the lives that could be upended and the anxiety that this very process is causing." — From the report that recommends how to divide a significantly smaller budget starting in 2021.

NEWS AND FEATURES

Group proposes how to divide slashed budget
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist group responsible for allocating most of the general church’s budget has issued its recommendations. Under the proposal, not all ministries will bear equally the brunt of the budget cuts. Heather Hahn reports.
Read story Read Connectional Table press release

GC2019 petitions explore exit plans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Weeks away from the 2019 General Conference, some of the dust has settled over which petitions delegates will vote on as they peer into the future for The United Methodist Church. Several of the remaining petitions focus on who keeps church property if there is a split in the denomination over the issue of inclusion or exclusion of LGBTQ persons. Kathy L. Gilbert reports.
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LGBTQ United Methodists offer 'Simple Plan'
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Backers say the plan for the church’s future that truly respects LGBTQ United Methodists is the Simple Plan, which would eliminate all language limiting the role of homosexual people in the United Methodist Social Principles and Book of Discipline. The plan is not one of those suggested by the Way Forward Commission. This is the third of a series of four stories briefly explaining each of the most prominent plans that will be considered at the February special General Conference in St. Louis. Jim Patterson reports.
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Coming next: The Traditional and Modified Traditional plans.

African hospital gets lifesaving surgical wing
BO, Sierra Leone (UMNS) — With the addition of a new surgical center, pregnant women who come to United Methodist Mercy Hospital to deliver their babies will no longer have to fear losing their lives, said the hospital’s administrator. The $140,000 surgery wing will allow doctors to perform complex medical procedures, including cesarean sections. Phileas Jusu reports.
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AME Senior Bishop McKinley Young has died
ATLANTA — Bishop McKinley Young, who worked on voter registration in South Africa and the U.S. prior to the election of the first black president in each nation, died Jan. 16 in Columbus, Ohio. The African Methodist Episcopal Church senior bishop was 74. Funeral services were set for Jan. 31 at Wilberforce University in Ohio, and Feb. 2 in Atlanta. Shelia M. Poole reports.
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PRESS RELEASES

Discipleship Ministries
Wesley Pilgrimage scholarship deadline is today
The scholarship application deadline for the Wesley Pilgrimage in England is Jan. 30. Scholarship recipients will pay $999 of the pilgrimage’s full expense, not including airfare. The 10-day event, July 8-18, will help leaders deepen their understanding of Wesleyan heritage by engaging in spiritual practice while exploring historic Methodist sites.
Read press release

COMMENTARIES

Disproportionate budget cut will hurt ministry
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodist Communications had expected to take a larger budget cut than other boards and entities for the 2021-24 period, but agency leaders say that the 37 percent reduction proposed by the Connectional Table is 17 percentage points higher than for any other agency. The "seemingly arbitrary" reduction will seriously hinder the church’s mission, agency leaders say.
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RECENT HEADLINES

Border wall would cut off historic church

WCA details post-General Conference plans

EVENTS

Monday, Feb. 4-Friday, Feb. 15
Online class: Finding Serenity — a study of the Serenity Prayer