It is with a heavy heart that I write this introduction to the First Friday Letter this month. I write it with the knowledge that Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa and a symbol of the struggle against injustice throughout the world, is gravely ill.   For the past few weeks I have […]

Gaston Ntambo, pilot for the United Methodist Wings of the Morning aviation ministry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will begin his weeklong journey home from the United States tomorrow. He will be flying a refurbished Cessna Grand Caravan—a 14-seat airplane that will greatly enhance his ministry of transporting critically ill or injured passengers […]

The 2013 Methodist Conference is taking place in London, beginning Thursday, July 4th through Thursday, July 11. Among the items being discussed on the agenda include elections of the President and Vice-President as well as other church business. The World Methodist Council asks that its worldwide family pray for those attending the Conference, for safe […]

David Busic, president of Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, was elected as the 40th general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene on Tuesday, June 25. He was elected on the 21st ballot at the 28th General Assembly and Conventions in Indianapolis, Indiana. Busic accepted the position. “My brothers and sisters, I find […]

Religious leaders from across Sydney joined together at a prayer vigil at Pitt Street Uniting Church this week to call for bipartisan support of a carbon price. The leaders signed an open letter, coordinated by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, which asks politicians to act on climate change this election. Rev. Dr Brian […]

The World Methodist Council is accepting submissions for the official logo the 21st World Methodist Conference which will be held in September 2016 in Houston, Texas.  The winning entry will receive $500 USD. The Conference theme is “One” and all entries must be received by July 22, 2013. Submission Criteria: The winning entry becomes the […]

To help usher in the centennial celebrations for the home of the World Methodist Council’s International Headquarters,  General Secretary Ivan Abrahams delivered a sermon honoring “the commitment, vision, offering and sacrifices of our forebears who shaped, gave form and content to Lake Junaluska captured in the current vision statement; ‘a place of Christian hospitality, where lives […]