News

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Three resolutions – all of which ultimately passed – received considerable debate that included a peaceful protest during Thursday night’s session of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference.  The three ...

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Rev Dr. Iosmar Alvarez, Kentucky’s nominee to the episcopacy, withdrew his name from consideration Thursday morning, just as the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference was preparing for the 13th ballot. As...

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Two of three bishops were elected Wednesday, Nov. 2, as Rev. Tom Berlin, the nominee from the Virginia Conference, was elected on the fourth ballot, receiving 213 of the 208 required, or 61.56% of the vote....

LAKE JUNALUSKA, North Carolina—Delegates, reserves, bishops, volunteers and members of the media filled the seats of Stuart Auditorium early Wednesday, Nov. 2, for the first day of the 2022 session of the Southeastern ...

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference’s opening day Tuesday, Nov. 1, was largely taken up with a series of “round robin” sessions that episcopacy nominees – including Kentucky’s Rev. Dr. Iosmar Alvarez...

Delegates from Kentucky and other annual conferences in the Southeastern Jurisdiction will gather this week at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, to elect bishops – including the election of three to fill openings from retirements. ...

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Sometimes we need to be reminded of what makes us unique, and Monday morning on a beautiful fall day, under clear blue skies and a canopy of trees exhibiting their most beautiful colors, approximately 60 ...

WASHINGTON, DC – The Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church has named MS. Eliza Love as the 2023 recipient of the $10,000 scholarship to attend the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After a two-year delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Annual Conference’s Administrative Services Team was finally able to host the National Association of Annual Conference Treasurers (NAACT) ...

HOPKINS COUNTY, Ky. – Andrew Pence could have spent his fall break from Lincoln County High School relaxing in between cross-country practice sessions. But he had something more ambitious in mind. The 16-year-old sophomore was ...

The 2022 Annual Conference Journal is now completed and online. It can be found at www.kyumc.org/conferencejournal. It is password-protected; if you need the password, contact your district office. Printed copies of the Journal ...

Bishop Robert “Bob” Hitchcock Spain, a retired Bishop of The United Methodist Church, passed away on September 9, 2022, at the age of 96. He was elected a Bishop in the United Methodist Church in 1988 during the Southeastern ...

I write to appeal to the presence of Christ the risen Lord in each of you. I share this statement as a shepherd who loves the people of the church and not so much as a biblical scholar, parliamentary expert, or expert interpreter...

At my very first appointment, one of my favorite parts of our worship service was “Testimonies and Concerns.” Testimonies and Concerns was true “liturgy,” where lay people had the opportunity to give witness, to testify about what...

United Methodists in southeast Kentucky continue to serve on the front lines with other denominations as the region moves from emergency response to the rebuilding phase from deadly floods in late July. Letha Patterson, a member...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -  The Council of Bishops (COB) of The United Methodist Church ended its summer 2022 meeting last Friday (Aug.26) with a call to act against gun violence and to create a uniform approach to the way in which ...

The United Methodist Church continues to be involved in the response to recent deadly flooding in southeastern Kentucky. Rev. Karen Stigall, District Superintendent of the Kentucky Annual Conference’s South East District and the...

Wednesday, August 24, the Kentucky Annual Conference Board of Trustees announces an update to the Conference’s terms for churches disaffiliating according to the Book of Discipline ¶2553. Effective immediately, disaffiliating ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -  The Council of Bishops expresses gratitude for the Judicial Council’s ruling that clarified that Paragraph 2548.2 of The Book of Discipline is not a process of church disaffiliation from The United Methodist ...

The Kentucky Annual Conference has produced a workbook for churches to help discern major decisions, and in-person training sessions at various locations will be conducted over the next several weeks to help churches get the most ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the midst of ongoing challenges related to Covid-19 and church disaffiliations, the Council of Bishops will meet August 22-26, 2022, to discuss the future of The United Methodist Church, prepare for new ...

Rev. Kevin Burney, Rev. Karen Stigall, with Bishop Leonard Fairley in prayer with others at Bowman Memorial UMC, Hazard, KY - By Cathy Bruce Bishop Leonard Fairley led a group from the Kentucky Annual Conference on a daylong ...

Lisa Cox Making her way up the steps to Marjorie Sexton - By Mike DuBose, UM News PIPPA PASSES, Ky. – Lisa Cox made her way up winding, moss-covered steps in pouring rain to deliver a battery-operated fan to 80-year-old Marjorie...

Throughout the Aug. 5 tour of flood-ravaged Eastern Kentucky, Bishop Leonard Fairley and Disaster Response Coordinator Jim Morse stressed the importance and advantages of the connectional nature of the United Methodist Church.  ...

JACKSON, Ky. – Debbie Holcomb and Rose Calhoun were cheerfully sorting through tons of food donations that were coming in by truckloads and from individuals to the United Methodist Mountain Mission for the survivors of the worst ...

Sandy Penix, of Pikeville, is the Co-Disaster Response Coordinator for the Kentucky East District. This was her experience helping at one of the relief sites.   By Sandy Penix   I went down to the Martin Community Center (in ...

Here's what you need to include in a Flood Bucket/Cleaning Kit:   Flood Bucket/Cleaning Kit One five-gallon round bucket with re-sealable lid (14.35” h x 12.19” w x 12.19” d) No screw lids May be used, but must be free from all ...

From Northern Kentucky District's Disaster Response Team: Greetings on behalf of the NKY District Disaster Response Ministry Team, We first ask for your continued prayers for all of the communities and first responders that are ...

Much of the following information is quoted or adapted from a joint document of FEMA and National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster titled “When Disaster Strikes…How to Donate or Volunteer Successfully,” pamphlet L217.  ...

Once again, floodwaters cover Eastern Kentucky. News outlets are calling the flooding “historic,” which is a word no one wants to hear during a disaster. I have been in contact with our Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, ...

The Kentucky Annual Conference is mobilizing in response to devastating flooding from torrential rain overnight July 27-28 that has submerged hundreds of houses and businesses in Eastern Kentucky. “Worst flood in my lifetime,” ...

DAWSON SPRINGS, Kentucky – The line of vehicles was already forming at 10:50 a.m. on June 30th – 10 minutes before two dozen staff and volunteers from Madisonville First UMC were scheduled to start handing out box lunches to ...

Nashville, Tenn.: The United Methodist Church has released the 2021 State of the Church Report, which centers around the theme of claiming our identity. Beginning with Jesus' question to Peter in Matthew 16, "Who do you say that I...

Greetings United Methodists across Kentucky,   The joy in my heart is still overflowing from my experience with you at Annual Conference in Owensboro. We sang together. We prayed as one. We worked together in the unity of the Holy...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church says the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn Roe v. Wade has denied the sacred worth of women who face “the tragic conflicts of ...

OWENSBORO, Kentucky – The 2022 Annual Conference – the first in-person gathering since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic -- wrapped up Wednesday, June 8, with a recognition of 20 retiring clergy, and business that included ...

OWENSBORO, Kentucky – A full day of worship Tuesday at the 2022 Kentucky Annual Conference started with a commemoration of clergy and spouses who have passed away in the past year and concluded at the end of the day with the ...

Haley Andes loving new role as Aldersgate camp director RAVENNA, Kentucky – More than two months after beginning as Director of Operations for Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center, the personal touches in Haley Andes’s office remain ...

OWENSBORO, Kentucky – Jesus’ instruction chronicled in John 12:12 – “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” – is the best witness we can give for Christ’s love and grace, Bishop Leonard Fairley ...

OWENSBORO, Kentucky – More than an hour before the 5 p.m. start of registration Sunday, the Owensboro Convention Center lobby was already starting to fill with clergy and laity in preparation for the start Monday of the three-day ...

Clergy and lay members of the Kentucky Annual Conference are preparing to gather for their first in-person meeting since 2019 – and Rev. Tami Coleman, the Conference Secretary, can’t wait to welcome everyone to Owensboro. “For us...

In a first for Loucon and Aldersgate, summer staff from both camps trained together at Loucon the week of May 23-28 as plans continue for the first “normal” summer camp season in three years. “Our camps have been living into a ‘...

“O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!” – Jeremiah 9:1. Hearts once again struggle for words that will not come easily. Grief ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  The Council of Bishops (COB) is expressing its appreciation following the Judicial Council’s ruling today that the COB is authorized to set the date of regular jurisdictional conferences for the election and ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is requesting a declaratory decision from the Judicial Council on the meaning and application of Paragraph 2548.2 in the Book of Discipline.  During a ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is expressing gratitude following the declaratory decision from the Judicial Council which stated that an annual conference may not vote to separate from the...

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Kentucky Annual Conference clergy who attended a worship service came not as Republican, Democrats, liberals, conservatives, progressives, traditionalists, centrists, or anything else, save one: “the only ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The bishops of The United Methodist Church completed their Spring meeting today in a spirit of collegiality and love for one another and the worldwide denomination.   In a moving time of worship, the bishops ...

By Heather Hahn April 28, 2022 | UM News   Key Points: The Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative breakaway denomination, has set May 1 as its official start date.  However, it will take time for any potential ...