United Methodist Church

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J. Edgar Hoover (center), director of the FBI, stands by a plaque dedicating a large stained-glass window to him at Capitol Hill Methodist Church, which today is called Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, on June 26, 1966. Also pictured are the Rev. Edward B. Lewis (left), pastor of the church, and the Rev. Frederick Brown Harris (right), chaplain of the Senate. The window is scheduled to be rededicated on Sept. 29, 2024, to deemphasize the connection to Hoover, whose longtime home was set in what is now the church parking lot. (Photo courtesy of the Capitol Hill United Methodist Church)

D.C. Methodist church to rededicate J. Edgar Hoover window as sign of ‘racial oppression’

By Sean Salai - The Washington Times

God’s Guidance on the Church Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Powerless church tells us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear

By Cal Thomas

The Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia leads a rally supporting traditional views of marriage and sexuality outside the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News, used with permission.

United Methodists, winnowed by conservative exodus, embrace LGBTQ inclusivity

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

A convention goer wears a button supporting LGBTQ clergy at the United Methodist Church General Conference Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The important lesson all Christian leaders can learn from Methodist Church decision on LGBTQ issues

By Dr. James Spencer – Special to Higher Ground

Rich Shaffer, West Virginia, sings with other delegates during morning worship at the 2024 United Methodist General Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Tuesday April 30, 2024. (Photo by Larry McCormack, UM News, used with permission.)

Methodists move to undo LGBTQ restrictions, embrace liberalized views on sexual practices

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

First United Methodist Church congregants pray for members attending the United Methodist General Conference, including Tracy Merrick, left, a delegate representing Western Pennsylvania, The Rev. Anais Hussian, a reserve delegate, and Joshua Popson, who is advocating for LGBTQ inclusion with the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The 11-day conference is the denomination's first legislative gathering since a special session in 2019. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

United Methodists prepare for votes on lifting LGBTQ bans and other issues at General Conference

By Peter Smith - Associated Press

A gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kan., on April 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) **FILE**

United Methodist delegates approve plan giving U.S. churches more autonomy on LGBTQ issues

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

Rev. Chris Morgan leads his congregation at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. The church has a diverse congregation with most leaning toward the center. In regional gatherings across the country this year, United Methodists approved requests of about 300 congregations to quit the denomination primarily over debates over sexuality and theology. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

United Methodists eye redefinition of marriage, massive budget cuts at business session

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

Church and steeple (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Outgoing United Methodist leader predicts fallout if LGBTQ rules relaxed at upcoming meeting

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

Shelby Ruch-Teegarden, center, of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, joins other protestors during the United Methodist Church's special session of the general conference in St. Louis, in this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, file photo. Disagreements over LGBTQ policies have splintered the Methodists in the years since. (AP Photo/Sid Hastings, File)

United Methodist Church faces 43% budget cut amid exodus of congregations

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

A gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kan., on April 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) **FILE**

United Methodist Church shrinks by 25% over LGBTQ ministry row: Report

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

In this photo provided by UM News, United Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, center, talks with counsel, the Rev. Scott Campbell, left, and Judge Jon Gray during her church trial on Sept. 19, 2023, in Glenview, Ill. A United Methodist Church court acquitted Carcaño, Friday, Sept. 22, of all charges in the first trial of one of church’s bishops in nearly a century. Carcaño, the first Latina bishop in the denomination and a prominent voice on behalf of immigrants, faced four charges of violating church law. (Paul Jeffrey/UM News via AP)

California bishop acquitted in first United Methodist court trial of its kind in nearly a century

By Peter Smith - Associated Press

A gay pride rainbow flag flies with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kan., on Friday, April 19, 2019. The United Methodist Church moved toward becoming more progressive and LGBTQ-affirming during U.S. regional meetings in November 2022, that included the election of its second openly gay bishop. Conservatives say the developments will only accelerate their exit from one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) **FILE**

Baltimore-Washington Methodists approve exit of 23 congregations, each with a price tag

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

A gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, on April 19, 2019. A group of theologically conservative United Methodists planned to launch a new worldwide denomination on May 1, 2022. This will begin the breakup of the third-largest religious body in the U.S. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Maryland, West Virginia Methodist congregations sue denomination over departure payments

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth addresses the delegates, guests and his new episcopal colleagues, shortly after his election on Nov. 4, 2022, at Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City. At left is his husband, Christopher Hucks-Ortiz. Bridgeforth is the first openly gay African-American man to be elected bishop. The vote comes six years after the Western Jurisdiction elected the denomination's first openly lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area. (Patrick Scriven/United Methodist News via AP)

LGBTQ-friendly votes signal progressive shift for Methodists

By Peter Smith - Associated Press

Rev. Chris Morgan leads his congregation at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. The church has a diverse congregation with most leaning toward the center. In regional gatherings across the country this year, United Methodists approved requests of about 300 congregations to quit the denomination primarily over debates over sexuality and theology. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

United Methodists to meet in 2024 on dividing up church property

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

Rev. Chris Morgan leads his congregation at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. The church has a diverse congregation with most leaning toward the center. In regional gatherings across the country this year, United Methodists approved requests of about 300 congregations to quit the denomination primarily over debates over sexuality and theology. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

United Methodists are breaking up in a slow-motion schism

By Peter Smith - Associated Press

Rev. Meredith Mills delivers a sermon from the pulpit for some 30 attendants during the second service of the day in the sanctuary at Westminster United Methodist Church Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, in Houston. Attendance for the two Sunday services is only about half of the average pre-pandemic turnout of about 160 or 170, Mills says. “It's better now than it was a year ago, but it's still frustrating,” she said. “People just seem to want to leave home less these days.” (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Race eyed as factor in United Methodist pastors’ salaries in two states

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

Rev. Meredith Mills delivers a sermon from the pulpit for some 30 attendants during the second service of the day in the sanctuary at Westminster United Methodist Church Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, in Houston. Attendance for the two Sunday services is only about half of the average pre-pandemic turnout of about 160 or 170, Mills says. “It's better now than it was a year ago, but it's still frustrating,” she said. “People just seem to want to leave home less these days.” (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Theologically conservative congregations set to break away from United Methodist Church

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times

In this April 19, 2019 file photo, a gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

United Methodists postpone divorce-setting general conference to 2024

By Mark A. Kellner - The Washington Times