Complaint against gay Iowa elder resolved

A just resolution has been reached in a complaint against the Rev. Anna Blaedel, the Iowa Conference announced Nov. 13. Blaedel has faced several complaints after publicly embracing the description "self-avowed practicing homosexual" at the 2016 Iowa Annual Conference. The Iowa elder faced a church trial in the latest complaint.

WCA looks toward new, traditionalist church

Leaders of the Wesleyan Covenant Association said a breakup of The United Methodist Church is inevitable and offered details of what a new, traditionalist Methodist church might look like. The group held its fourth global gathering, drawing about 1,000 to Asbury United Methodist Church, with an additional 2,000 watching by simulcast.

Response to wildfires deepens with experience

United Methodist responses to the annual wildfires in California include immediate help such as gift cards and charging centers for electronics, to longer-term efforts to tend to the psyches of children who’ve been through traumatic events.

Bishops warned their funding imperiled

Church financial leaders sounded the alarm at the fall meeting of the Council of Bishops. Without any changes, the fund that supports the bishops will run out of money in five years.

Global Ministries to Commission New United Methodist EarthKeepers for Environmental Stewardship 

Global Ministries will commission 67 new EarthKeepers from 23 conferences in an online service on November 19, 2019 at 8pm ET at www.umcmission.org/live. Among those being commissioned is Barb Maynes, a lay member of First United Methodist Church, Port Angeles, WA.

North Central Jurisdiction repents of harm to LGBTQ people 

Delegates from the North Central Jurisdiction released a statement acknowledging and apologizing for harm to LGBTQ individuals in the past and for potential harm that could begin Jan. 1, 2020, when the Traditional Plan goes into effect. They also called for a moratorium on complaints related to same-gender weddings and LGBTQ identity and credentialing, and said they want to elect bishops in 2020 who will join in these commitments.

Council of Bishops: Carter reports on bishops’ meeting

Council of Bishops President Kenneth H. Carter has released his summary of the council’s recent meeting, including actions taken and reports received. Some of what he describes occurred in closed session. Carter also addresses the bishops’ priorities as discussions continue about the future of the church.

CrossOver: Abundant Life Outside the Lines

In her post for the Greater Northwest Area’s CrossOver blog, the Rev. Mary Huycke shares how the very pattern-recognizing skill that we count on for so much can entrap us and others. She points to spiritual practice as key to gaining the freedom to encounter life as it truly is.

Sharing Church with People and other Scary Things

While attending last month's PNW Orders Gathering in Yakima, Rev. Mike Lawson had several chance encounters with a young person, a youth wearing a scary mask during the first encounter. Lawson wonders what we might discover, and be able to share, if we push past our fear of those outside our doors.

Check out the New Hispanic/Latinx Newsletter

Early this Fall, new Director of Hispanic/Latinx Ministries Rev. Cruz Edwin Santos, began to meet and hear from Hispanic/Latinx leaders across the conference.

He is producing a quarterly newsletter with these leaders, providing a forum for them to tell their story and learn more about other ministries in the PNW.

Alaskan who served in both WWII and Vietnam honored in Veterans Day ceremony

Walter Fergus, a 94-year-old World War II prisoner of war and Vietnam War veteran, was presented a folded U.S. flag honoring him for his 28 years of service during a Veterans Day ceremony in the Glenn Massay Theater in Palmer Monday. Fergus is a longtime member of Christ First UMC in Wasilla and he served for many years as the church secretary.

Beyond Bequests: 3 Planned Gifts that Help Now

The Northwest United Methodist Foundation offers some guidance this week on bequest alternatives. “If one of your members wants to make a planned gift whose impact they can see during their lifetime, here are three options to consider...”"

Death is always hard… sometimes it is harder because we hide painful truths…

Rev. Peter Perry touches on a very important topic in a post to the First United Methodist Church of Olympia website. It was prompted by a recent eulogy he gave, and the request of grieving parents to "break down some of the stigma of mental illness and suicide."

Group of bishops calling for ‘deeper conversations’

Eight United Methodist bishops are calling for a new form of unity amid differences over human sexuality that seem to be pushing The United Methodist Church toward a split. The bishops, four active and four retired, signed a statement and offered it to the church, calling for "deeper conversations regarding new expressions of Methodist witness."