"Connected to one another and to God, we must take a stand for peace so that Christ's shalom is available to all." - Bishop Marcus Matthews.
Bishop reflects on Navy Yard shooting
FULTON, Md. (UMNS) - Reflecting on the Sept. 16 shootings at the Navy Yard in Washington, Bishop Marcus Matthews of the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference called for United Methodists to pray but also to take a stand against gun violence.
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Churches hard-hit in Colorado floods
BOULDER, Colo. (UMNS) - Some United Methodist churches in Colorado may be weeks or months from re-opening after flooding that took out roads and bridges and shut down utilities in Front Range communities. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported within United Methodist congregations, but an elderly member of a United Methodist church in Boulder lost her great-grandson - a teen trying to save his girlfriend - to flood-related drowning.
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Open letter to new college students
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UMNS) - The Rev. Narcie Jeter, campus minister at the Gator Wesley Foundation at the University of Florida, urges young adults to get involved, try churches a second or third time and "find a community and hold tight to it."
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History of Hymns: "Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive"
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - In his column for the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, C. Michael Hawn offers a meditation on the concept of forgiveness and the hymn by Rosamond E. Herklots that uses this line from the Lord's Prayer as its title.
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Iliff symposium for trauma professionals
DENVER (UMNS) The United Methodist-related Iliff School of Theology plans a symposium offering spirituality as a resource for trauma professionals. The event is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. MT Thursday, Sept. 19.
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United Methodist turns to alternative gifts
BONAIRE, Ga. (UMNS) - Terry Everett wants a cow for her 64th birthday - not for herself but for a family in Kenya. So she's asked friends and family to donate to a ministry that provides livestock for African families rather than give her gifts. Everett is not alone. Many United Methodists are espousing the philosophy that it is better to give than receive, the South Georgia Annual (regional) Conference reports.
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College debt and search for financial freedom
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The debate among politicians regarding student loans could be distracting from the critical need for financial aid for deserving young people who lack the resources and experience to achieve higher education, writes the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications. In his blog, Faith, Media, Culture, Hollon, reflecting on his own struggles to pay for college, said United Methodist student loans made a critical difference in allowing him to pursue his education.
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