Teaser:Ralph Williams, a delegate to the General Conference who is gay, comments on the actions of the 2008 General ConferenceBY RALPH WILLIAMS It may be too soon for me to fairly reflect on the recently concluded 2008 General Conference. The hundreds of petitions that were acted upon at...
Teaser:Area United Methodists are gathering for the 224th session of annual conference BY MELISSA LAUBER UMCONNECTION STAFF Almost 2,000 United Methodists from throughout the Baltimore-Washington Conference will gather at the Gaylord Hotel in Oxon Hill, May 22-24, for the 224th session of the...
Teaser:The worldwide UMC meet in Fort Worth to cover a vast array of issues and adopted four new areas of focus to guide the church into the future. BY J. RICHARD PECK United Methodist News Service The 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church opened its April 23-May 2 legislative...
By Robin Russell United Methodist news Service For three decades, United Methodists have debated at General Conference gatherings whether gay Christians can participate fully in the denomination, including being ordained as clergy. This year, persons who have changed their gender are adding a...
By Barbara Wheeler United Methodist News Service The United Methodist Communities of Shalom initiative returned to General Conference, where it was born in 1992 as a ministry of community reconciliation and development. Shalom leaders came not asking for funds but to demonstrate the...
By SHAUN LANE With his country in the midst of political and economic turmoil, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, episcopal leader of the Zimbabwe Area, said that the role of United Methodists in Zimbabwe is to continue to encourage a spirit of peace. “We need to develop and equip spiritual leaders...
April 27, 2008 NOTE: Photographs and video are available with this report at http://www.gc2008.umc.org/. By Linda Green* FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) - "The church owes me nothing. I owe the church and the Lord of the church everything," said Iowa Bishop Gregory V. Palmer...
Teaser:Amid a field of boots of U.S. soldiers who died, United Methodists speak out for peace. BY MELISSA LAUBER The United States spends $720 million a day on the war in Iraq, enough to fund the entire budget of The United Methodist church for four years and still have a surplus of $80...
Teaser:Glimpses of Baltimore-Washington Conference members at General Conference BY MELISSA LAUBER Members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference are an integral part of the General Conference, the quadrennial meeting of The United Methodist Church, being held April 23 through May 2 in Fort...
Teaser:General Conference delegates shape a hopeful future as they begin the work of the church. BY J. RICHARD PECK Delegates to the United Methodist General Conference began to sink their teeth into some 1,500 petitions during the evening of April 24. The 992 delegates gathered in 13...
