UMC

GCORR: 29 ways to participate in Black History Month

Black History Month celebrates the unique contributions of African Americans to the American history. Whatever your heritage or background, black history is part of everyone’s history. Religion and Race have compiled 29 suggestions to help United Methodists celebrate Black History Month during this leap year. Some ways to celebrate may include educating yourself on black history or the various African American Methodist movements. You might also support local African American businesses/charities or participate in local advocacy. You can also explore…

Annual Conference 2023 Recap

The 169th session of the Minnesota Annual Conference took place May 31-June 1, 2023 at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud. Drawing on Luke 24:13-35, the theme of this year’s gathering was “Encounter. Transform. Respond. The Emmaus Experience.” We heard from Rev. Dr. Michael Beck, co-pastor of Wildwood and St. Mark UMC in FL concerning Fresh Expressions. Pastor Isiah Dennis was recognized as a Licensed Local Pastor, Rev. Chris Kliesen Wehrman was honored for her time in ministry…

New Rooted Series: Our Beliefs as UMC

This Sunday, May 7 we will begin a new series for Rooted: Spiritual Formation (formerly known as Adult Education). This series, happening from May through June will be discussing “Our Beliefs as UMC.” We will be covering topics such as sin, the Wesleyan concept of grace, and liberal vs. conservative theology. Rooted happens every Sunday 10 minutes after worship, both in-person and online. For more information, check out the Rooted page here:

UMC Creation Justice Tips: Thank You, God!

Thank You, God!In the midst of the incessant onslaught of bad news, it’s time to give thanks for all that is good. Challenge family and friends to swap out a traditional meat-based dish for one from plants. In a four-person household, making the change just once a week is the equivalent of removing the emissions from driving a car for five weeks. You’ll have more to celebrate and be thankful for. Are you regularly in a queue to pick up…

UMC Creation Justice Tips: Are you a consumer or a citizen?

How you think of yourself matters. We’ve repeatedly been told we are consumers, but to consume means “to use things up.” Rejecting that label and seeing ourselves as citizens—ones who care for the welfare of the community—makes a difference in our actions. Which one aligns with our faith? Who do you want to be? Fall is another planting season, this time for perennials. Choose native plants that bloom in the fall, such as asters. They give us a pop of…

Creation Justice Tips for Going Plastic Free

You don’t have to look far to see plastic pollution. You don’t have to look far to find alarming research or scary statistics about the harm plastic, especially single-use plastics, are doing to our air, land, oceans, marine life, and even our own bodies. With this Special Edition of 35 Tips, you also don’t have to look far for ideas or inspiration for changing the outcome.Start with love. John Wesley’s General Rules: Do no harm, do good, and stay in…

United Methodist Creation Justice Tips for Christmas

The holidays are wonderful in many ways, but they have an environmental cost. Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The waste from each of those weeks adds up to one million extra tons of discards going into landfills. These Tips can help you and your family enjoy the season and care for God’s good creation. With COVID more of us will be doing our Christmas shopping online. Turn your shopping green by exploring companies that…

Worship Service: Be the Light, Live Hope

A clergy covenant group within our conference has created a gift in the form of a pre-recorded worship service around our 2020 Annual Conference theme (“Be the Light, Live Hope”) that’s available for all congregations to use Aug. 30 or after. Thank you to Revs. Shawna Horn, Jay Jeong, LaQuaan Malachi, Nate Melcher, Kate Murphey Payton, Whitney Sheridan, and Mariah Furness Tollgaard for developing this great resource. Prospect Park UMC streamed this service on August 30 during our 10am worship time.…

A message from Bishop Ough: Monitoring and preventing the spread of coronavirus

Dear Beloved in Christ: As if there is not enough fear and anxiety in our lives, the world is now enveloped in the fear of the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. This fear is fed by the repetitive 24-hour news cycle, crashing stock markets, and growing restrictions on travel and large gatherings. And now we have our first confirmed case in Minnesota’s Ramsey County. This probably means that community transmission of the virus is already taking place in Minnesota. The most common…
  • 1
  • 2