Following Christ, The Lead Conductor
By Suzanne Nicholson “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature...
Judicial Council Closes Exit Door
News analysis by Thomas Lambrecht In a highly anticipated decision, the Judicial Council has ruled that annual conferences in the U.S. cannot unilaterally withdraw from The United Methodist Church. The Council of Bishops had asked for a declaratory decision on six...
UM Church’s “Supreme Court” Prepares to Hear Major Case: Questions and Answers
The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council, essentially its Supreme Court, will hear oral arguments on Tuesday morning, April 25, 2017, regarding the legality of the Western Jurisdictional Conference's election of an openly lesbian and married clergywoman to be a...
Three Days
By Walter Fenton- Good Friday Sometimes the sordid episode is almost too hard to believe. The fear, the hatred, the rage, the brutality, the blood, and the death - sometimes it is too horrible to fathom. But there is Jesus, on the cross, bleeding and dying, right at...
Invoking the Holy Spirit
By Walter Fenton- "The Holy Spirit had swept across the room; its power and presence real and obvious. It was a sacred moment on holy ground," wrote the Rev. Kent Ingram and Emily Allen about the election of the Rev. Karen Oliveto, an openly married, lesbian, as a...
“People will Die”
By Walter Fenton- Moderates and conservatives long ago gave up on any hope the UM Church's General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) would demonstrate any fairness or impartiality when it comes to non-liberal plans for health care, tax policy, education, energy...
Satellite Congregation Votes to Leave UMC
By Walter Fenton- A congregation in Wichita, Kansas, that averages 350 in worship has voted to leave The United Methodist Church. As a satellite campus of Asbury UM Church, the congregation announced its decision on Sunday, March 19. "Some pastors and people are weary...
The UM Church Membership Conundrums
By Walter Fenton- Methodists down through the decades are famous for being "methodical" and giving attention to detail. From the very beginning, John Wesley baked into the Methodist system a regular accounting of membership and attendance in small groups. In order to...
