The Watchful Eyes of Angels
“Give your angels charge over those who sleep.” – The Book of Common Prayer. By Tish Harrison Warren For close to 15 years, I forgot about the existence of angels. I didn’t exactly decide I no longer believed in them. I simply didn’t think about them, and if I ever...
When Words Won’t Come
By B.J. Funk In the fifth grade, my best friend was Susan. We were inseparable. On weekends we played at either her house or mine. Her mother made us matching outfits, and we each pulled our long same-color hair back into a pony tail. We loved being together. We loved...
Jessica LaGrone’s Invitation to the Wesleyan Covenant Association
"During this time of uncertainty and chaos in our church the Wesleyan Covenant Association is a fresh voice of hope,” says the Rev. Jessica LaGrone, Dean of the Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. In her invitation to United Methodists to join...
Faithfully Forward
By Rob Renfroe- If the Western Jurisdiction wanted to create a schism within The United Methodist Church, its delegates could not have devised a better plan than their recent election of the Rev. Karen Oliveto to serve as a bishop of the UM Church. As is widely...
The Martyr’s Invitation
By Steve Beard- “Jacques, you were a faithful disciple of Jesus.” If he were given the opportunity to overhear the proceedings at his own funeral, these are the words that Father Jacques Hamel would have been most pleased to hear. They were said with a mixture of...
West Elects Oliveto
The Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto, senior minister of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco, has been elected as a bishop by the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. She is the first openly married lesbian to be elected bishop within the...
Married Lesbian Consecrated as United Methodist Bishop
By Kathy Gilbert, UMNS- The first time she stood and faced a packed church as the newest bishop of the Western Jurisdiction, Karen Phyllis Oliveto was blessed with a resounding standing ovation. On July 16, the pews at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church in...
Annual Conferences Declare Non-Compliance
By Kathy L. Gilbert, UMNS- The United Methodist Church declares “the practice of homosexuality incompatible with Christian teaching.” The Book of Discipline bars openly gay or lesbian people who are not celibate from being ordained or becoming bishops. The church’s...
