Pension Liability Declines Dramatically
By Thomas Lambrecht One of the important financial costs for local churches to disaffiliate from the UM Church is a payment of that local church’s proportional share of the annual conference’s unfunded pension liability. That liability is calculated monthly by...
Keys to doing separation right
By Thomas Lambrecht In the midst of the sometimes heated rhetoric around separation and the conflicts engendered by bishops and annual conferences who are imposing draconian requirements on churches desiring to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church, it...
Crusader or Servant?
By Frank Decker- Before I became a missionary, I served a small United Methodist church in Virginia while in my 20s. There was a family in the neighborhood to whom we provided assistance from time to time. One day their grade school-aged daughter was playing with some...
Rookie Mistake
By Walter Fenton- Writing to churches and clergy in the Iowa Annual Conference about financial challenges the conference faces, new Bishop Laurie Haller wrote, "Some of our clergy and congregations are making the decision to withhold apportionment payments to protest...
Judicial Council Denies Motion for Reconsideration
By Walter Fenton- The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council has declined a request to reconsider a portion of its April 2017 decision regarding the consecration of an openly lesbian bishop. In a brief email to Mr. Richard Marsh, an attorney representing the...
Mercy Kept the Light on
By B.J. Funk- Motel Six television commercials are known for their “We keep the light on” advertisements. These words might not mean much to some, but they send a comforting beacon to many for whom the light has been turned off. Weary travelers find hope when they...
John Grenfell, Jr., Pastor, Advocate, and Friend
By Walter Fenton- Lifetime Good News Board member the Rev. John Grenfell, Jr. died this past Sunday, June 25, 2017. He was 86 years old. John was one of those United Methodist pastors who never really retired; he was not the retiring type. He played ice hockey into...
Leaning Centrists
By Walter Fenton- A resolution recently presented to the clergy session of the West Ohio Annual Conference speaks volumes about the self-declared "United Methodist Centrist Movement." The resolution made four requests of conference pastors and the two at the top of...
