Daily Digest - June 3, 2019

NEWS AND FEATURES

UM News and Baltimore-Washington Conference 
Two US conferences ordain, commission LGBTQ clergy
BALTIMORE — Two U.S. annual conferences have ordained and commissioned for ministry openly LGBTQ clergy. The Baltimore-Washington Conference ordained a married LGBTQ elder and commissioned a married lesbian as a provisional deacon. The Northern Illinois Conference ordained an openly transgender deacon and commissioned two openly LGBTQ provisional deacons. Erik Alsgaard and Jim Patterson have the stories.
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Read Baltimore-Washington story  

Liberia pushes to recruit young people into ministry
MONROVIA, Liberia (UM News) — As young people continue to shy away from the church, The United Methodist Church in Liberia is frantically trying to recruit them to ministries — especially as clergy. The focus on young people is a major part of the Liberia Conference’s strategic plan for the next five years. E Julu Swen reports.
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Waco Tribune-Herald
Church merger preserves downtown UM presence
WACO, Texas — Waco’s First United Methodist Church, one of the state’s largest Methodist churches, will become a little larger next month when it formally merges with downtown Waco’s Austin Avenue United Methodist Church. The reunification, officially approved by both congregations, comes after some 16 months of discussions and prayer between the two churches. Carl Hoover reports.
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PRESS RELEASES

Council of Bishops
New website highlights bishops’ work
WASHINGTON — The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church has launched a new website dedicated to the issues and business of the 120-plus leaders who give oversight to the denomination. The site contains biographical information for active and retired bishops, news, information about annual conferences and details on the ecumenical work the council and its staff undertake on behalf of the church.
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Visit website


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 UMNS staff.

Good News magazine
Case for separate paths
DAYTON, Ohio — The Rev. Kent Millard, a centrist, and the Rev. David F. Watson, a leader in the Wesleyan Covenant Association, make the case for why they think the church should divide. “Our desire for separation comes not from a place of contempt for those with whom we disagree, but from a desire to have peace,” the two write in a column for Good News magazine.
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Mainstream UMC
Votes condemn, reject Traditional Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. — The founder of Mainstream UMC argues that votes by the Great Plains Conference to “condemn, resist and reject” the Traditional Plan should be a key indicator of “how offensive” the plan is to mainstream U.S. United Methodists. The Rev. Mark Holland notes that the conference is made up of Kansas and Nebraska, two states that have voted for a Republican presidential candidate every year since 1968. 
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