Sitting Inside Loneliness
By B.J. Funk The Beatles released a song in 1966 that spoke of loneliness: Ah, look at all the lonely people/ Where do they all come from?/ All the lonely people/ Where do they all belong? Are you plagued with periods of loneliness? Do you feel sometimes that you...
Judicial Council eliminates another disaffiliation route
By Thomas Lambrecht In a newly released decision, the Judicial Council states, “the process in Par. 2548.2 may not be used as a pathway for local churches to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church.” This decision responds to a May request from the...
Responding to the Judicial Council Ruling
By Thomas Lambrecht- In April, Good News greeted with some dismay – as did many men and women in the pews – the Judicial Council’s convoluted and ultimately unsatisfactory ruling regarding the Western Jurisdictional Conference’s nomination, election, consecration, and...
Unreasonable Faith
By Steve Beard- Dr. Tom Caneta has spent the last nine years sequestered in the Nuba Mountains of the African nation of Sudan. Around the clock, he heals the sick, bandages the broken, and takes cover from bombs dropping overhead. Caneta is the last doctor left in...
Strangely warmed
By Luther Oconer- On May 24, Methodists all over the globe commemorated the 279th anniversary of John Wesley’s “heart strangely warmed” experience at Aldersgate Street in London. While we generally mark the event as Wesley’s evangelical conversion, his own account...
Exceptional Entrepreneurs Profit in Many Ways
By Lilla Ross- For Exceptional Entrepreneurs, it’s not about the paycheck, but there’s a definite pay off. Three days a week 17 adults with developmental disabilities, ranging in age from 18 to 76, gather at Grace Community Center to perform simple jobs with the...
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...
