Fast as wind goes the speed of developments in The United Methodist Church, exploring the future of our beloved denomination. The Special Session of General Conference in February 2019 has revealed lots of things about who we are (see "Harvest of Thorns"). In August, African delegates and other individuals met at the Desmond Tutu Center in Nairobi, Kenya, in preparation for 2020 General Conference. This gathering revealed a few things that I hope can help us explore what it means to be a global denomination.

The Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church has released its highly anticipated ruling on the constitutionality of the so-called Traditionalist Plan passed by the 2019 Special General Conference. While many of us had hoped that the entire plan would be ruled unconstitutional, the Judicial Council took the middle road of determining that some parts of the plan conformed with our denominational constitution while other parts did not.

Love Your Neighbor Coalition Statement to the Commission on a Way Forward, Council of Bishops, 2019 General Conference, and all United Methodists

Thirty-seven representatives from the Central Conferences and United States of America met August 24-29 in Portland, Oregon to spend time listening to each other and reflecting on issues of justice affecting their contexts.

The absence of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to be a major concern for United Methodists in and outside the country.

"There is an empathy deficit in this country," said Bishop Karen Oliveto, as she addressed over 150 attendees from 17 Annual Conferences and 20 ethnicities attending the "Rise Up!" conference sponsored by the Western Methodist Justice Movement held in Portland over Presidents Day weekend.

Rise Up conference - Presidents Day weekend 2017

The Commission on a Way Forward began its work on Sunday, January 22. This initial organizing meeting will continue until Thursday, January 26, 2017.

On Thanksgiving weekend, November 2016, a delegation of young adults from Los Angeles visited the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota.

The following letter was sent to President Barack Obama by the Bishops of the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church expressing opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline and support for the Standing Rock Sioux Nation

Less than a week has passed since the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police in Baton Rouge, LA and Falcon Heights, MN. Their deaths have triggered widespread protests as our nation once again faces the horrifying truth that police brutality is real, especially in economically depressed neighborhoods that are largely inhabited by our black and brown sisters and brothers.

Today, we mourn the violent and untimely deaths of 49 sisters and brothers, pray for the physical healing of 53 others who were wounded, and seek the spiritual and emotional restoration of a great many more whose sense of well being has been profoundly violated.

The Western Methodist Justice Movement endorses the episcopal candidacies of Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto and Rev. Frank Wulf, based on their proven track records in ministry, their commitments to justice, and the voice of LGBTQIA+ perspectives that the Council of Bishops so greatly needs. Indeed both have been endorsed by their respective annual conferences, and their candidacy statements speak for themselves.

Yesterday (2/11/2016) in Manila, a historic gathering on LGBTQ inclusion and ministry was hosted by Union Theological Seminary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists, and the Love Your Neighbor Coalition.

WMJM has just released a statement on the Supreme Court Ruling granting equal rights in all states to same-gender couples who wish to get married.

Over the Labor Day weekend, the WMJM hosted a retreat entitled “Stepping Out in Faith” at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center at Lake Tahoe. This retreat, which brought together more than 100 United Methodists (mostly from the Western Jurisdiction), featured keynote speakers from across the global United Methodist Community