By Melissa Lauber On May 26 at 12:32 p.m., at the exact time a gunman broke into an elementary school in Uvalde, Teas, two days earlier, the largest bell at the National Cathedral tolled 32 times – once for each of the victims of the mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo and Robb...
By Melissa Lauber With praise music blasting across an empty lot and down blocks of boarded-up row houses in Baltimore, United Methodists gathered on May 25 with civic and government leaders to compare dreams. The leaders of Ames UMC and the Resurrection Sandtown Project were still a little...
A Call to Action from the United Methodist Council of BishopsBy Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton Therefore, rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not merely...
By Rev. Janet CraswellNational United Methodist Church Once again, our hearts are broken by gun violence: first a racist attack in Buffalo, New York, and then a horrific attack on an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Hopefully the littlest children will be unaware of events, but...
After receiving the devastating news of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, I needed to take a breath. I took some time for tears, I took a moment for anger, I took a while for reflection. But on this day after the school shooting, the sadness, rage, and so many questions linger. I...
Last week our country faced a particularly sobering moment when the number of CoVID-19-related deaths in the United States reached one million. Globally, the number of deaths is estimated at 15 million. The grief that persists among the unknown number of people impacted by the loss of these many...
The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. -- Proverbs 16:9 When we gather as the Church, we do so to tend to our souls, but when disaster and other crises strike, we are also called upon to help keep one another physically safe. Recent headlines of...
The Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church recently ruled that the Council of Bishops can call jurisdictional conferences to elect and assign new U.S. bishops. The ruling follows the postponement of the General Conference until 2024. However, the Judicial...
Beloved, all hearts join in sorrow and grief for those families who suffered loss yesterday in Buffalo, New York. The mind cannot fathom that in the blink of an eye such senseless tragedy occurred again. With this shooting, we witnessed hatred become violence again. Again.
By Melissa Lauber A few decades ago, the pastors and lay members of local churches used to process into the annual session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference in the order they were incorporated. Lovely Lane UMC was always first. I imagine Dumbarton UMC was second. But third was Melville...
