Volunteers

Mission and Ministry
On the eve of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C., climate activists hold a candlelight Vigil for Creation to mark Earth Day and to call the denomination to greater stewardship of creation. Participants included Mary Frances Gaston (left) Emily McGinn, students at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. The service took place at the First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

The year in photos

2024 was a year of great change for The United Methodist Church and the world. General Conference brought big changes for the denomination, while wars and severe weather left millions of people displaced. The contentious U.S. presidential election fueled concerns over immigration, reproductive rights and other issues. But in a world filled with uncertainty, United Methodists continued to live out their faith. UM News documents a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.
Local Church
Volunteers at Klein United Methodist Church in Spring, Texas, spend Monday through Wednesday cooking turkey and preparing side dishes before welcoming guests on Thanksgiving Day. Photo courtesy of The Texas Conference.

Church Thanksgiving Feast feeds hundreds

For over a decade, Klein United Methodist Church in Spring, Texas, has turned Thanksgiving into a celebration of generosity, community and connection. This year, the congregation expects to serve more than 1,000 people at its annual Thanksgiving Feast.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a nonprofit that builds and delivers beds to children who need them. Immanuel United Methodist Church in Camillus, New York, along with community volunteers, built 62 beds. Photo courtesy of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

Church assembles dozens of beds for children

The Immanuel United Methodist Church parking lot transformed into a hive of energy and purpose as volunteers came together with one mission: to give children the comfort and security of their own beds. The church partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that builds and delivers beds to children who need them. The goal was 40, but church and community volunteers surpassed that, building 62 beds. The Upper New York Conference produced a video from the event.
Local Church
Students from the United Methodist Hanwa Primary School in Macheke, Zimbabwe, play in an inflatable airplane during a children’s fun day sponsored by Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission, a ministry of the denomination’s Baltimore-Washington Conference. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.

Jumping with joy at United Methodist mission school

Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission from the Baltimore-Washington Conference organized a day of fun for students at Zimbabwe’s Hanwa Mission, including jumping castles, face-painting, food and more.

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