UM News Digest - Jan. 8, 2025

Church promotes peace in Mozambique
Teacher’s legacy creates partnership
Bishop calls for prayer amid wildfires

“This situation will potentially affect all our ministry programs (and) services and all church activities.” — United Methodist Ezequiel Marcos Nhantumbo, on the impact of political unrest in Mozambique.

Protesters run from police during a "national shutdown" against the election outcome in Luis Cabral township in Maputo, Mozambique, on Nov. 7, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko.

Church promotes post-election peace in Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique (UM News) — United Methodists in Mozambique are asking for prayers and encouraging lawmakers to seek peace as civil unrest in the country continues following general elections in October. Hundreds have died and thousands have been injured in post-election violence. The Rev. João Filimone Sambo reports.

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Teacher’s legacy creates church, school partnership
CHITUNGWIZA, Zimbabwe (UM News) — A United Methodist teacher’s legacy endures through a partnership between her former workplace and The United Methodist Church, which helped to revive a school awards ceremony. To the church it was a way of evangelizing to the community; to the school, it was a way of motivating students. Kudzai Chingwe has the story.
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California-Pacific Conference
Bishop calls for prayer amid wildfires
PASADENA, Calif. — As strong winds fuel wildfires in the Los Angeles area, California-Pacific Conference Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank is calling for prayer for the affected communities as well as firefighters, medical and support personnel. The conference has learned that Altadena United Methodist Church’s building was lost to fire. In the meantime, United Methodist churches across the area are providing shelter to people who evacuated. Firefighters are battling multiple fires that have led to the deaths of at least two people and the evacuation of more than 80,000.
Read California-Pacific Conference update
NBC News: Updates on California wildfires
Donate to the UMCOR U.S. disaster response

Greater New Jersey Conference
COVID-born ministry still going strong
EDISON, N.J. — In the early days of COVID, New Dover United Methodist Church created Bread Breakers, a ministry that distributed hundreds of homemade meals per week while observing pandemic protocols and self-isolation. The ministry caught the attention of The Hartford Institute and a video journalist attended a December worship service to report on how the church weathered the storm of COVID and emerged stronger than ever. The Rev. Sarah Borgstrom Lee reports.
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Pew Research Center
New US Congress sees dip in Christians
WASHINGTON — The 119th U.S. Congress has marginally fewer Christians than the 118th, continuing a gradual, decade-long decline. Still, Christians account for 87% of voting members in the newly elected Senate and House of Representatives, far greater than the 62% of U.S. adults overall who identify as Christian. All told, 26 lawmakers identify as members of a Methodist denomination. Jeff Diamant reports.
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The Sheridan Press
Church completes stained-glass restoration
SHERIDAN, Wyo. — At First United Methodist Church, 15 stained-glass windows from the 1920s shed light onto the congregation’s history. To preserve this legacy, the church recently underwent a massive $120,000 project to restore the windows. Georgia Lodewyk has the story.
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UM News includes in the Digest various commentaries about issues in the denomination. The opinion pieces reflect a variety of viewpoints and are the opinions of the writers, not UM News staff.

Discipleship Ministries
Better stewardship in 2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The start of a new year is a good time to upgrade a church’s approach to stewardship, says Ken Sloane, director of stewardship and generosity at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship Ministries. Sloane offers 12 goals to pursue, but suggests tackling one at a time.
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Church and Society
Take an online virtual tour of UM Building
WASHINGTON — The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, in partnership with the Commission on Archives and History and the nonprofit organization CyArk, has launched an interactive online virtual tour of the United Methodist Building as part of its 100th anniversary celebration. The tour features a photorealistic 3D model of the site, video interviews, archival multimedia and digital animated navigation inside and outside the building.
Read press release

Lake Junaluska
Center offers mission and ski retreat
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. — Youth groups will have the chance to help with recovery from Hurricane Helene at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center’s Mission and Ski Retreat scheduled on Jan. 17-20. The theme for the weekend is “Seek.”
Learn more

Foundation for Evangelism
Local-church grant applications open Jan. 15
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. — The Foundation for Evangelism plans to open the 2025 Equipping the Local Church grant cycle on Jan. 15. Up to 50 grants of $5,000 or $10,000 are available to small and medium-size churches, or clusters of churches working together, in a Wesleyan-tradition denomination. An online information session will be held on the grants at 2-3 p.m. U.S. Eastern time Jan. 23.
Learn more