“I have a duty to use my privilege to do what change I can. No matter if it’s uncomfortable or not, it’s a divine duty that we all have.” — Isaac Simmons, a certified candidate for ministry who often preaches in his drag persona, Ms. Penny Cost.
NEWS AND FEATURES
Ministry candidate preaches in drag to ‘speak in new way’
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (UM News) — Isaac Simmons came upon the idea of merging drag and spirituality through an unlikely source: 20th-century Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin. “He thought the best way to enact systemic change is through joy and carnival … and drag is over the top and joyous,” said Simmons, who in March 2021 became the first openly gay candidate to be certified for ministry in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. He preached as his drag persona, Ms. Penny Cost, on Pentecost Sunday in May. Video story by Joey Butler and Mike DuBose.
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Florida Conference
Carpenter’s Shop brings joy to kids, seniors
LARGO, Fla. — Seniors at St. Paul United Methodist Church use their woodworking skills and enjoy fellowship while bringing smiles to children. The Carpenter’s Shop produces wooden toys that first responders and community groups distribute to kids in crisis. The quilting ministry is also involved, making quilts for the toy doll beds. Joe Henderson and Brittany Jackson have the story.
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Holston Conference
Peachy keen cookies pay for air conditioner
WEATHERFORD, Texas — Summer festivals are back this year, and a group of Texas United Methodists hoped their peach cookies would prove a big draw at the Parker County Peach Festival. The Rev. Clint Jones of Calvary United Methodist Church said the group’s cookie sales netted $2,100 for a church air conditioner and hundreds received invitations to church. Annette Spence has the story.
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Louisiana Conference
Assets of destroyed church distributed
GRAND CHENIER, La. — The third time Grand Chenier United Methodist Church was damaged by a hurricane, there was nothing left but a slab of concrete and a plaque displaying the Lord’s prayer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, members decided not to rebuild and are distributing more than $200,000 in assets to United Methodist churches in the local area.
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Deseret News
Why some churches are done with buildings
HOUSTON — Two United Methodist churches in Texas and Florida offer examples of congregations that went virtual during the pandemic and don’t want to go back to maintaining a building. Mya Jaradat looks at whether congregations actually need buildings to build communities.
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WSAZ
Church vandalized, causing $12,000 in damages
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A woman faces a destruction of property charge after police say she shattered a window at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church with a rock. Despite the damage, the Rev. Cindy Briggs-Biondi, the church’s pastor, expressed concern for the woman. “We need to be more concerned with broken people than broken things and if we’re not doing that, then we’re not really doing a good job of the whole Jesus thing,” she said. Tori Yorgey reports.
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PRESS RELEASES
Fortress Press
Pastor’s book looks at American Revolution
SAN DIEGO — The Rev. John Fanestil has published “One Life to Give: Martyrdom and the Making of the American Revolution.” Fanestil, an elder in the California-Pacific Conference, traces the motivations of Revolutionary War soldiers to the tradition of English Protestant martyrdom. Fortress Press is releasing the book next month.
To learn more and pre-order
RESOURCES
United Methodist Communications
5 summertime giving tips
PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s a truism that church giving tends to go down as the summer temperatures go up. Cesie Delve Scheuermann, her church’s finance committee chair and a consultant in stewardship, offers five ideas to inspire summertime generosity.
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