Methodist Heritage: New York’s John Street
Methodist Heritage: New York's John Street - By Edmund Robb III - Good News, January-February 1977 - What do a one-eyed army captain, an Irish immigrant, and a distraught woman have in common? They were all part of launching Methodism in New York City. Here’s how it...
The Marks of a Methodist 3: Discipline
The Marks of a Methodist 3: Discipline - By Thomas Lambrecht - This series of articles has been looking at the marks of a Methodist, as expounded by Bishop Gerald Kennedy in 1960. How has the expression of Methodism changed or remained the same in the last 60 years?...
UMNS: WCA plans new denomination
By Sam Hodges -- The Wesleyan Covenant Association met in person and online April 30-May 1, continuing to plan for a new, traditionalist Methodist denomination and passing a resolution criticizing three United Methodist bishops for recent appointment-making decisions....
Disruption at Mt. Bethel UM Church
By Walter Fenton -- "We were taken completely by surprise,” said Lindsay Hill, chairwoman of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church’s Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), as she still tries to absorb Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson’s decision to move the congregation’s...
Turmoil in New Jersey
By Thomas Lambrecht -- Complaints about bishops exerting autocratic authority are nothing new in Methodism. Such grievances leveled against Francis Asbury, the first Methodist bishop in America, were the cause behind Methodism’s first schism. Rev. James O’Kelly...
Experience vs. Scripture
By Thomas Lambrecht -- Many who affirm the practice of homosexuality in contrast to the teachings of Scripture base their affirmation on human experience. As they would describe it, they see God at work in the transformation of a human life, and it causes them to...
Getting the UM Church Unstuck
By Thomas Lambrecht -- The dust is clearing after an eventful month in The United Methodist Church. General Conference is postponed in-person to August 2022. A special virtual General Conference was scheduled for May 8, 2021, and then cancelled. The new Global...
The Heart of the Gospel
By Thomas Lambrecht -- “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and...
What is Religious Freedom?
By Thomas Lambrecht - Freedom of religion is often called the “first freedom” because it is the first provision mentioned in the United States Bill of Rights. Many scholars believe all the other freedoms depend upon the foundation of religious freedom to establish and...
The Real St. Patrick
By Steve Beard - While sifting through obscure Spanish colonial records, it was discovered a few years ago that the very first St. Patrick’s Day parade was not conducted in Boston, Chicago, nor New York City. Instead, the Irish feast day was celebrated in modern day...
Does Regionalization Replace Separation?
By Thomas Lambrecht - There are two proposals that would change United Methodism by creating different regional versions in the various geographical areas of the church: Africa, Europe, the Philippines, and the U.S. One proposal is from the Connectional Table and the...
A Fresh Start
By Thomas Lambrecht - Sometimes in life, there is no substitute for a fresh start. That is what the newly announced Global Methodist Church (GMC) offers. Texas experienced near-record freezing temperatures a couple weeks ago. As a native of Wisconsin, I’m used to the...
