"The Sunday school building — it's a total loss. The roof blew off. We'll lose everything in that building, and the whole building will go." — The Rev. Michelle Harris, on Hurricane Ida's damage to St. Charles United Methodist Church in Destrehan, Louisiana.
NEWS AND FEATURES
Ida takes out church buildings
BATON ROUGE, La. (UM News) — The Revs. Michelle and Jason Harris, a clergy couple, serve United Methodist churches that took a direct hit from Hurricane Ida as it tore through southeastern Louisiana. Her church, in Destrehan, lost one of three buildings. He still awaits news on his church, in LaPlace, where flooding has been extreme and rendered roads impassable. Louisiana Conference Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey said damage is widespread among churches in and around New Orleans and more remote areas. Sam Hodges reports.
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South Carolina Conference
Old glasses bring new vision to Guatemala
COLUMBIA, S.C. — United Methodists in the Midlands are collecting used pairs of glasses for people in need in Guatemala. Glasses for Guatemala, a mission project of the Columbia District Outreach Committee, is collecting glasses through Sept. 30. Jessica Brodie has the story.
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North Georgia Conference
Turning surplus into 'Mercy Drops'
DALTON, Ga. — When COVID-19 began, Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church leaders worried how the church would manage through the crisis. But God provided through members' generosity, and the church ended 2020 with a surplus. The church has now turned those funds into the ministry Operation Mercy Drops, which has the goal of distributing $12,000 in grants this year.
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United Methodist Communications
Jesus wept. So should we
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Modern culture teaches people to be brave and not show vulnerability, but even Jesus wept. What brings people to tears may reveal their most authentic selves, as well as offer a space to commune with God. Crystal Caviness has the story.
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Harris Memorial College
Former president of deaconess school dies
QUEZON CITY, Philippines — Zenaida P. Lumba, a deaconess who helped nurture the deaconess movement in the Philippines, died Aug. 26 at age 81. Lumba served as Harris Memorial College president for 19 years. She also worked as a teacher, registrar and academic dean at the college and started a scholarship trust fund to help those without the means to attend the deaconess school.
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Watch video tribute to Lumba
UM News: Deaconess movement flourishes in Philippines
PRESS RELEASES
The Upper Room
Resilience conference set
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Healthy spiritual practices will be explored during an online conference designed to help participants be more resilient in the wake of difficult events like the coronavirus pandemic and racial upheaval. "Resilience: Healing Practices for Mind, Body and Spirit" is set for Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
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COMMENTARIES
UM News includes in the Daily Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not the UM News staff.
Remembering a civil rights giant
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — Ernest "Rip" Patton Jr., who died Aug. 24 at age 81, was a Freedom Rider in the 1960s who never stopped challenging people to build a better world, writes the Rev. Janet Wolf, director of Public Theology and Nonviolent Organizing for the Children's Defense Fund. She called Patton "a beloved friend who offered wit and wisdom, generosity and grace, loud laughter and thick love to me and many over the years."
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RECENT HEADLINES
Despite Ebola lessons, COVID-19 challenges Africans
Commentary: In defense of rural churches
EVENTS
Wednesday, Sept. 1
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