United Methodist

Renewing A Queer (Religious) Agenda

Rev. Cody J. Sanders | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: LGBT Rights, North Carolina Amendment One, United Methodist, Religion and Sexuality, Religion and Politics, Gay Christians, LGBT Christians, Religion News

Whether our lives are deemed "incompatible with Christian teaching" or our loving relationships are deemed sub-par to straight marriages, the message is clear: there are some among us who do not believe queer people should exist.

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Giving Birth Is Not a Laughing Matter

Katey Zeh | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: Global Motherhood, United Methodist Church, United Methodist, Maternal Health, United Methodist General Conference, Methodists, Family Planning, Maternal Mortality, Impact News

Maternal mortality is a moral tragedy, and there are many factors that contribute to it, including health and cultural barriers. A new resolution calls upon the United Methodist Church to take action to support maternal health and family planning through advocacy and direct services.

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The United Methodist Church Has Voted To Be Inclusive Before. Can We Do It Again?

Rev. Gil Caldwell | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Religion and Sexuality, Christianity, United Methodist, Gay Christians, United Methodist Church, Gay Clergy, Religion News

This week, I'm watching and praying for the United Methodist Church as they meet in General Conference. Among all the issues, there are major decisions about whether lesbian and gay people can be married and serve as clergy.

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Walking The (Catholic) Plank

Sarah O'Leary | Posted 04.27.2012

Read More: Lutheran Church, US Poverty, Catholicism, Southern Baptist Convention, Catholic Sex Abuse, Catholic Church, God, Ban on Gay Marriages, Jesus, Religious Right, Vatican, Love, Spirituality, Catholic-Church, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Priests, Poverty, Roman Catholic Church, Nuns, Religious Freedom, Kindness, Catholic Bishops, Catholic, Pro-Life, Vatican II, Acceptance, Catholics, Religion, Child Poverty, Born Again, Born Again American, The Vatican, United Methodist, Vatican Sex Abuse, Wheaton College, Religion and Politics, Catholic Nuns, Vatican City, American Nuns, Global Poverty, Pro-Choice, Gay Marriage, Religion News

Why doesn't my Catholic Church get its own house in order first? Get the plank/log/boulder/semi truck/elephant out of its own eye before it tries to remove a speck from another's eye?

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John Edwards Is A Sinner, Yes. But A Criminal?

Rev. Chuck Currie | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Forgiveness, United Methodist, Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards, Sin, John Edwards Trial, Christianity, Religion and Politics, Religion News

As a husband, he failed. As a father, he failed. Yet these seem to be issues best left to be resolved between Edwards and God, not a court of law. There is every reason to believe the case against Edwards is overreach.

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Silent Clergy Killers: 'Toxic' Congregations Lead To Widespread Job Loss

David Briggs | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Depression, Mental Health, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Conflict, Job Cuts, United Methodist, Clergy, Self-Esteem, Congregations, Facebook, Christianity, Religion News

Months of suffering traumatic and demeaning psychological and emotional abuse as they are slowly being forced out of their pulpits due to congregational conflict, Tanner said, "is a really, really horrible process."

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Morehouse, Martin And The Methodists

Rev. Jerry Campbell | Posted 04.20.2012

Read More: Christianity, Morehouse College, Racism, United Methodist, Race in America, Civil Rights, Martin Luther King Jr., Religion News

We must not betray the promise of America by continuing to turn a blind eye to the plight of the oppressed in our midst. It is up to us to take up the cause of social justice for which Dr. King and many others struggled.

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6 Reasons Mississippians Said No to "Personhood" Amendment

Burns Strider | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Mississippi Naacp, Catholics, United Methodist, Social Conservatives, Mississippi, Conservatives, Southern Baptist, Liberals, Ballot Initiative, Election Day, Personhood, Derrick Johnson, Personhood Amendment, Naacp, Politics News

Why did those pushing "personhood" lose in arguably the most conservative state in the Union? Why did the opposing forces win a majority of the vote in Mississippi? Here are six reasons.

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MCC supports 'We Do! Methodists Living Marriage Equality'

Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson | Posted 12.26.2011

Read More: Metropolitan Community Church, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, Same-Sex Marriage, United Methodist, Gay Marriage, Gay Voices News

Metropolitan Community Churches are proud to support the 800-plus Methodist clergy and laity in New York and Connecticut who are vowing to perform sam...

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Why I will never join a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Church again: My "Call to Action" for the United Methodist Church

Kelly Figueroa-Ray | Posted 12.01.2011

Read More: Trinity Episcopal Church, Philippians 3:4b-14; United Methodist Church, United Methodist, White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestants, Call to Action, Christianity, Racism, Charlottesville, Multiculturalism, Religion News

My fellow United Methodist brothers and sisters, I believe the church is where God's kingdom--God's alternative culture--should be manifest

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Activists Push Change In Methodists' Gay Policy

Posted 10.25.2011

Read More: Methodist Gay Clergy, United Methodist, Gay Christians, Gay Clergy, Gay Ordination, Religion and Sexuality, Gay Methodists, United Methodist Church, Methodist Gay Ordination, United Methodists General Conference, Religion News

By Michael O'Malley Religion News Service CLEVELAND (RNS) Hundreds of United Methodists are meeting in Huron, Ohio, this week in an uphill bid to ...

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What Brad Paisley And John Wesley Can Teach Us About Hell

Rev. Larry Hollon | Posted 08.28.2011

Read More: John Wesley, Religion, Jobs, Unemployment, United Methodist, Faith, Country Music, Economy, Sacred Sounds, Religion News

Paisley drove me to Wesley. And Wesley helped me see the need to step out of my parochial, institutional concerns and broaden the definition of community to include everyone from the top to the bottom of the economic scale.

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200 Methodist Clergy Vow To Bless Same-Sex Unions

Posted 08.27.2011

Read More: Religion News, Amy Delong, Methodist Gay Marriage, Lesbian, Gay, Mainline, Civil Unions, Protestant, Marriage Equality, Lgbt, Transgender, United Methodist, Bisexual, Religion and Sexuality, Illinois, United Methodist Northern Illinois Conference, Gay Marriage, Chicago News

Some 200 United Methodist clergy of the church's Northern Illinois Conference have pledged to bless same-sex unions in violation of the church's polic...

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Methodist Pastor Found Guilty Of Marrying Gays

AP | DINESH RAMDE | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Amy Delong, Methodist Gay Marriage Trial, United Methodist, Methodist Gay Marriage, Amy Delong Guilty, Methodist-Clergy, Amy Delong Gay Marriage, Gay Marriage, Religion News

MILWAUKEE — Methodist pastors who have defied a church ban on marrying gays were dealt a setback Wednesday when clergy members hearing a church ...

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Serving Others To Change The World

Rev. Larry Hollon | Posted 07.11.2011

Read More: Good Works, United Methodist, Helping Others, Christianity, Jesus Christ, Change the World, Teachings of Jesus, Christian Social Justice, Religion News

Think what could be accomplished if everyone spent an occasional weekend helping a neighbor or volunteering our time.

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Institute On Religion And Democracy Continues Campaign Of Disinformation

Rev. Chuck Currie | Posted 06.12.2011

Read More: United Methodist, National Association of Evangelicals, Andrew Weaver, Federal Budget, National Council of Churches, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Mark Tooley, RIchard Mellon Scaife, Front Page Magazine, Anti-Poverty Program, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops United Church of Christ, Religion News

If you have ever heard of the Institute on Religion and Democracy and thought it was a religious organization, you would have been mistaken. Names can be deceiving.

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Evangelical Churches Still Growing, Mainline Protestantism In Decline

Posted 05.25.2011

By Richard Yeakley Religion News Service While mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. continue to experience decades-long decline, the memberships ...

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Nonreligious Parents: How to Answer Kids' Questions

Benyamin Cohen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Interfaith, Christianity, Atheism, United Methodist, Interfaith Dialogue, Jesus, Religion News

Children of non-believers need to see that their parents take religion seriously -- its historical impact, its cultural influence, its importance in the lives of so many people on this planet.

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Make A Hands-On Difference for Haiti: Student Update

Anne Dilenschneider | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Haiti Emergency, Charlotte Middle School, Hurricane Relief, American Institute of Philanthropy, Haiti Relief Efforts, Haiti Earthquake, Volunteering, Health Kits, Dickson County Help Center, Volunteer, Disaster, Katrina, Haiti Earthquake Relief, Hurricane Katrina, Donate to Haiti Earthquake, Elk Grove, Mississippi, Spirituality, Four Star Charity, Storm Relief, Holy Family Episcopal Church, Haiti Donations, Help Haiti, Louisiana, Umcor, Charlotte Tigers, Help Haiti Earthquake, Spirit Group, Half Moon Bay, Rebuilding, The Giving Tree, Haiti Relief, Charity Navigator, Dennis Wong, Support Haiti, Haiti Volunteer, Haiti, Haiti Disaster Relief, Joseph Simms Elementary, Hurricane Rita, Joelle Speed, How to Help Haiti, Disaster Relief, United Methodist, Sally Beauty Supply, Prayer, Disaster in Haiti, Haiti Relief Organizations, Impact News

Middle school students across the country provide "hands-on" support for Haitian earthquake victims by assembling hundreds of health kits for an international aid organization.

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Is A Jewish Wedding Ahead For Chelsea Clinton?

AP | RACHEL ZOLL | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bill Clinton, Marc Mezvinsky, Marc Mezvinsky Jewish, Judaism, Southern Baptists, Hillary Clinton Secretary of State, Jewish Wedding, Chelsea Clinton Marc Mezvinsky, Wedding, Methodist, Jew, Secretary of State, United Methodist, Chelsea Clinton, Jewish, Hillary Clinton, Weddings, Edward Mezvinsky, Religion News

NEW YORK — Her mother is a churchgoing Methodist. Her father is a Southern Baptist. Yet could Chelsea Clinton be planning one of the biggest Jew...

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My White Mom's Black History Moment II

Dedrick Muhammad | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Richmond Flowers, United Methodist, Martin Luther King, Ku Klux Klan, Montgomery Alabama, George Wallace, Sncc, Dedrick Muhammad, Student-Nonviolent-Coordinating-Committee, Video, Healthy Living News

For these final days of Black History Month, Mom talks about the repercussions she experienced for challenging the norms of white society and going to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak in the mid 1960s.

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Make a Hands-On Difference for Haiti: Pa Za Pa

Anne Dilenschneider | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Haiti Emergency, Charlotte Middle School, Hurricane Relief, American Institute of Philanthropy, Haiti Relief Efforts, Haiti Earthquake, Volunteering, Health Kits, Volunteer, Disaster, Katrina, Haiti Earthquake Relief, Hurricane Katrina, Donate to Haiti Earthquake, Mississippi, Spirituality, Four Star Charity, Storm Relief, Holy Family Episcopal Church, Haiti Donations, Help Haiti, Louisiana, Umcor, Charlotte Tigers, Step by Step, Help Haiti Earthquake, Half Moon Bay, Rebuilding, Haiti Relief, Charity Navigator, Support Haiti, Haiti Volunteer, Haiti, Haiti Disaster Relief, Hurricane Rita, How to Help Haiti, Disaster Relief, United Methodist, Pa Za Pa, Prayer, Disaster in Haiti, Haiti Relief Organizations, Impact News

Elementary school children across the country are making health kits for Haiti with the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Communities everywhere are encouraged to join the effort.

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Join in Global Prayer for Haiti

Anne Dilenschneider | Posted 11.17.2011

People all over the world are praying for the people of Haiti, for those involved in relief efforts, and for the leaders of all the governments who ar...

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Make a Hands-On Difference for Haiti: Charlotte Tigers Update

Anne Dilenschneider | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Haiti Emergency, Charlotte Middle School, Hurricane Relief, Haiti Relief Efforts, Haiti Earthquake, Volunteering, Health Kits, Volunteer, Disaster, Katrina, Haiti Earthquake Relief, Hurricane Katrina, Donate to Haiti Earthquake, Mississippi, Spirituality, Storm Relief, Haiti Donations, Help Haiti, Louisiana, Umcor, Charlotte Tigers, Help Haiti Earthquake, Rebuilding, Haiti Relief, Support Haiti, Haiti Volunteer, Haiti, Haiti Disaster Relief, Hurricane Rita, How to Help Haiti, Disaster Relief, United Methodist, Prayer, Disaster in Haiti, Haiti Relief Organizations, Impact News

This week they are gathering the supplies they will need to put together 442 health kits that will be sent to Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of these kits will be needed over the coming months.

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Make a Hands-On Difference: Katrina Volunteers Still Needed

Anne Dilenschneider | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mississippi United Methodist Disaster Response Center, Robert Sharp, Storm Relief, How to Help Katrina, Louisiana, Umcor, Help Katrina, Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Response Ministry, Hurricane Rita, Hurricane, Disaster Relief, United Methodist, Katrina Rebuilding, Volunteer, Katrina Recovery, Katrina, Disaster, Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi, Spirituality, Volunteering, Darryl Tate, Fema, Lake Charles, Impact News

The United Methodist Committee On Relief is the only major relief agency still on the ground rebuilding Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They still need volunteers and you can help!

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