In the course of my post-graduate studies in Rome, I came home to do research. At some point during an evening conversation with my father, I asked him: “Papa, why did you abandon the gods of our ancestors?” He looked at me with very penetrating eyes and said: “My son,
African Delegates’ Urgent Requests Unanswered By Thomas Lambrecht We are less than six weeks from the opening session of the 2024 United Methodist General Conference. That is why it is troubling that African delegates continue to be beset with delayed responses from the staff running our UM General Conference and are
African Regionalization Support Not Unanimous By Forbes Matonga (This week, UM News ran two commentaries from United Methodists from Africa dealing with pivotal issues that will be before the upcoming General Conference in Charlotte. We encourage United Methodists to read both pieces. For this week’s Perspective, we are featuring the
Synodality is an unusual word, which has been made popular by Pope Francis. The root is the more common word “synod” made popular since Vatican II, especially with Pope Paul VI who inaugurated the synod of bishops in our modern Church. We should remember, however, that synods and synodality have
Engaging an African Bishop By Thomas Lambrecht A recent commentary by Bishop Mande Muyombo (North Katanga Area in the Congo Central Conference) sets forth his understanding of where things are and where things are headed for The United Methodist Church in Africa. Given Muyombo’s position of power within the church’s hierarchy,
In October 1991, workers in Lower Manhattan accidentally discovered a burial ground dating back to the seventeenth century that contained the intact remains of 419 Black people. They were taken to Howard University for anthropological examination and, in 2003, returned to Manhattan to be solemnly reburied in what is now