At the entry to the Nassar family farm outside Bethlehem is a large rough piece of the local limestone. Carved into its face, in Arabic, English and German, are the words, ‘We refuse to be enemies.’ It is for the active living-out of this philosophy in the face of almost intolerable pressure and difficulty that […]

At the Peace Award presentation, many people were moved by the work that had brought this moment to fruition and by the symbolism. Perhaps, the explanation from Bill Plitt who is the Executive-director/co-founder of the Friends of Tent of Nations North America will allow readers of the FFL to go there and to hear the […]

In late August, Vice President, Gillian Kingston, and General Secretary, Ivan Abrahams, traveled to the beautiful town of Torre Pellice in northern Italy to attend the Synod of the Waldensian Church and OPCEMI (the Methodist Church in Italy) and to present the 2017 World Methodist Peace Award to OPCEMI.  Later, in mid-October, they traveled to […]

The chair of the ecumenical relationships committee, Reverend Dr. Tim Macquiban, Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome, represented the WMC as fraternal delegate to the Synod of Bishops meeting over three weeks to advise Pope Francis on the chosen theme, ‘Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment’. His summary of the meeting, which should be of […]

A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino* The life of a United Methodist pastor is filled with a variety of responsibilities. They preach, teach, visit, counsel, lead, consult, communicate, budget, clean, and so much more. Pastoring a church is not a job that can be done well under the pastor’s power alone. Every pastor relies heavily […]

The biggest annual gathering in the Uniting Church, the Tongan National Conference (TNC), took place from 5-7 October with more than 1000 people gathered in Katoomba, NSW. Travelling from across the country, Tongan members of the Uniting Church came together to raise their voices in worship, celebrate their culture and be encouraged in their faith, […]

As people lift their hands to the sky and try to peer through the thick, steel mesh fence, Guillermo Navarrete says, “Look up, see the sun shining brightly on both sides of the wall, the birds, clouds and the breeze feel no human barrier, they migrate freely. “This is what the grace of God is […]