By LORETTA FULTON Each December, members of Religion News Association, including Spirit of Abilene creator and editor Loretta Fulton, choose the top religion stories of the year. Those include the top national stories, international stories, and newsmaker of the year.Many of the Top 10 stories, as voted on by members, had local implications, including the No. 1 story, the Supreme
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Links to related Spirit of Abilene articles:Aldersgate Leaves UMC; Conference Forms Online Missional Churchhttps://spiritofabilene.com/2022/11/12/aldersgate-leaves-umc-conference-forms-online-missional-church/Methodists Must Decide: Will We Stay or Will We Go?https://spiritofabilene.com/2022/05/27/local-methodists-informed-about-decisions-on-whether-to-stay-or-leave/St. Paul to Remain United Methodisthttps://spiritofabilene.com/2022/10/17/st-paul-to-remain-united-methodist/Local Methodists Not United on Futurehttps://spiritofabilene.com/2022/10/10/local-methodists-not-united-on-future/Q&A With Dr. Sandra Harper, McMurry University Presidenthttps://spiritofabilene.com/2022/06/03/qa-with-dr-sandra-harper-mcmurry-university-president/ By LORETTA FULTON “We’re finally past the fighting,” a relieved Jeff Fisher said following the departure of 145 United Methodist
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By Loretta Fulton Aldersgate is the latest United Methodist Church congregation in Abilene to leave that denomination and join the new Global Methodist Church. With that decision by Aldersgate members, Abilene is down to two United Methodist Church congregations. Only St. Paul and St. James remain in the United Methodist Church fold as other local congregations are moving to the
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By LORETTA FULTON Aldersgate United Methodist Church has moved up its date to vote on disaffiliation to 6 p.m. Nov. 10. Originally, the church was set to vote sometime in 2023, according to Dustin Wilhite, pastor. At stake is whether to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and join the new conservative branch of Methodism called Global Methodist Church or
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By LORETTA FULTON The United Methodist Church is united no more. A number of local congregations have voted to disaffiliate with the UMC and join the new Global Methodist Church. That trend is expected to continue in Abilene and across the Northwest Texas Annual Conference, a regional jurisdiction. For those who have voted to disaffiliate, the change takes effect Jan.
Read moreUnited Methodists reacted to the Supreme Court’s overturn of the 1973 landmark abortion ruling in Roe v Wade with varying opinions. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday, June 24, to uphold the decision in a case styled The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Supreme Court ruling gives the power to regulate abortions back to the states. Even
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Editor’s Note: McMurry University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, which is undergoing a significant change. The Global Methodist Church, a more conservative branch of Methodism, launched on May 1, 2022. Some congregations, including many of those in the Northwest Annual Conference, are expected to leave the United Methodist Church for the new denomination. Following is a Q&A with
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The Northwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church has created a section on its website with information to guide local churches as they decide whether to remain under the United Methodist umbrella or disaffiliate. https://www.nwtxconf.org/transition By LORETTA FULTON “Help us to see the way you would have us go.” Those words from the opening prayer from Steve Patterson
Read moreBy LORETTA FULTON A new pastor will be serving St. Paul United Methodist Church effective July 1. Bobby Wilson, current pastor of St. Paul’s UMC in El Paso, was announced Sunday morning, March 13, as the new minister, replacing Steve Patterson, who has been at St. Paul since July 2019. Patterson was appointed as pastor of St. John’s UMC in
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