News and Views

Reddix-McCray tends to bodies and souls
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By Eleanor Meeks You Can’t Feed Someone’s Soul If Their Body is Hungry: A profile on Rev. Dr. Irance Reddix-McCray and Her Journey of Faith On a Tuesday afternoon at approximately 1 p.m., the Adullum Community Healthcare Center sits in calm stillness. Located in the Waverly UMC...

The BLESS model for evangelism
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By Bill Brown  Evangelism is a word that often elicits mixed emotions, especially for those of us who are United Methodists. For many, it conjures memories of encounters with judgmental zealots, overly aggressive preachers, and individuals who seem more focused on converting others than on...

BWC delegation reflects on General Conference and the future
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In the wake of disaffiliation and the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Methodist Church saw 862 delegates descend on Charlotte, North Carolina for the postponed 2020 General Conference. The Baltimore-Washington Conference sent 12 individuals — six clergy and six lay members — to...

A Little Tenderness
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By Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. -- Luke 1:78-79 (Song of Zechariah) For many months leading up to this...

The Road toward Sacramental Authority for Deacons
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By Rev. Dr. Leo Yates, Jr. The outcome from General Conference has been very positive for all sorts of groups, including Deacons. The Rev. Julie Wilson and Rev. Dr. Leo Yates, both Deacons in full connection, had submitted petition #20879, titled Granting Sacramental Authority to Deacons in...

BWC delegates react to historic vote
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By Erik Alsgaard Today, May 1, 2024, is the Rev. Leo Yates' wedding anniversary. He and his husband received an anniversary gift today: the removal of some language in the church’s Book of Discipline, from paragraph 304.3, which states in part that “the practice of homosexuality is...

LYNC is 'the church we hope to become'
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By Erik Alsgaard Sprinkled throughout every General Conference, advocacy groups and coalitions form a part of the legislative process that is central to this meeting. Among those, you can find groups coming together to advocate for a fossil-free United Methodist Church; Mainstream UMC, a group...