UMC Bishops Request 2026 General Conference as Hundreds More Churches Disaffiliate
The meeting would focus on re-establishing connection within the United Methodist Church after years of strife over the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members.
United Methodist Bishops Meet, Look to Pivot After 2,400+ Churches Disaffiliate
United Methodist bishops from across the globe are meeting this week for the first time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.
UMC Top Court Rules Disaffiliating Clergy Don’t Automatically Lose Credentials
A Wisconsin bishop had required clergy whose churches were disaffiliating to give up their jobs or their credentials.
UMC Clergy Reportedly Face Complaint, Church Trial After Marrying Nonbinary Couple
The Rev. Paige Swaim-Presley and the Rev. Elizabeth Davidson say they were informed in late February a formal complaint has been filed against them, allegedly for officiating a same-sex wedding.
The War on Public Libraries
This issue of A Public Witness takes a look (it’s in a book) at the religious history of public libraries and the ways they help our communities go twice as high. Then it introduces us to friends to know and ways to grow as we
The Foundation Seeking to Spread Christian Education With State Support
The Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation has awarded grants to schools that exclude LGBTQ students and families and paid for creationist science teacher training.
Narrow ‘Religious Freedom’ Gains Traction in Texas
Multigenerational Texan and seminarian Christopher Symms details the religious aspects of the political fight in his state over what Governor Greg Abbott calls the “woke agendas in schools."
Dehumanizing ‘Conversions’ and the Church
Darron LaMonte Edwards argues that Christians should be opposed to harmful conversion therapy, which is more concerned with changing who a teen is sexually attracted to than with modeling how to live faithfully.
Bishops Discourage Catholic Health Care Groups From Performing Gender-Affirming Care
Opponents of the new ‘doctrinal note’ such as New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ outreach organization, blasted the bishops’ statement as ‘neither good theology nor acceptable pastoral care.’
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by 36 United Methodist Churches
A North Carolina Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed last year by 36 United Methodist churches demanding to sever their ties to the denomination.