Category: Methodist

  • An Incoherent Judicial Council Decision

    By Thomas Lambrecht This week, the United Methodist Judicial Council (the equivalent of our church supreme court) handed down Decision 1451 regarding the processes to govern the 2024 meeting of the General Conference. This decision responded to requests from the Kenya-Ethiopia, Western Pennsylvania, and Alaska Annual Conferences. The Judicial Council

  • Considering Methodist Options

    By Thomas Lambrecht By the end of this year (2022), about 2,000 local churches will have disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church. Hundreds more will do so next year. Where will they end up? A few will remain as independent Methodist churches. The vast majority will align with another Methodist

  • Colorful Faith in a World of Chaos

    By Jessica LaGrone — My friend Ryanne is a colorful Christian. Her home is colorful. She often paints a wall or ceiling or the whole front porch on a whim, based on some color that has drawn her fancy. Her family is colorful. Her children’s skin colors are a glorious

  • Africa Again the Stepchild?

    By Thomas Lambrecht — This week, 14 new bishops are being elected in the five jurisdictions of the United States. In a few weeks, three bishops will be elected in the Philippines and one bishop in Central and Southern Europe. All these newly elected bishops will be replacing bishops who

  • Fit for a Queen

    By Steve Beard — Richard Griffin, a former member of the royal security detail to Queen Elizabeth II, tells a delightful story about walking with the monarch near her beloved Balmoral Castle in Scotland and meeting two American tourists. “It was clear from the moment we first stopped that they

  • New wave of United Methodist bishops elected

    United Methodist News – After electing 13 new bishops during their November 2-5 meetings, the denomination’s five U.S. jurisdictional conferences announced episcopal assignments effective January 1. Jurisdictional leaders recommended electing 14 new bishops; however, the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference voted to suspend its rules and delay the election of a second