Prayer Room Open for General Conference 

Keeping with what is now a tradition, The Upper Room is hosting a prayer room for the duration of General Conference. The prayer room features three dedicated prayer altars and eight prayer stations with Scripture-based activity prompts. The prayer room also offers spiritual guidance in the form of 50-minute, one-on-one sessions with certified spiritual directors. Rev. Karen Hayden, lead pastor of Kingsway UMC in Springfield, was volunteering there this week as a spiritual director. Read the story at https://www.umnews.org/en/news/prayer-room-available-to-general-conference-attendees.

Eurasian Conferences Exit UMC

General Conference delegates approved the departure of four Eurasian annual conferences — which encompass 66 churches in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan with a total membership of 1,123. Together, the four plan to form the autonomous Christian Methodist Church. Eurasia Area Bishop Eduard Khegay, who is also leaving, expressed his gratitude for the decision. Read the United Methodist News Service story at https://www.umnews.org/en/news/eurasian-conferences-get-go-ahead-to-form-own-church.

Following God’s Lead at General Conference

Bishop Sharma Lewis dropped to one knee and implored delegates to put their trust in God despite the human tendency to be “control freaks,” as the General Conference of The United Methodist Church began its workday this morning. “The human intellect battles constantly with trusting in God versus trusting in self,” the Mississippi Conference bishop preached during morning worship. Read the story at https://www.umnews.org/en/news/preacher-follow-gods-lead-at-general-conference.