Historic Regionalization Movements Made at the Postponed 2020 General Conference at Morning Plenary
There was a lot of hope and excitement as everyone left the morning plenary, which went almost 2 hours over the planned time. To better understand the work of the morning, please watch the four videos provided. These were captured from a press conference for communicators only and are KEY in explaining the collaborative and […]
General Conference Daily Report – Day 2
The highlight of morning worship in Charlotte was the Episcopal Address offered by Bishop L. Jonathan Holston of the South Carolina Episcopacy. He concluded his sermon by repeating, “Let’s go and be the people, who God is calling us to be!” An additional story about his address may be found here. Arkansas Area Bishop Laura […]
General Conference Daily Report – Day 1
Delegates from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States gathered today in Charlotte, North Carolina, to begin the postponed 2020 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. The General Conference convenes every four years to consider revisions to church law and to adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy, and economic issues. The General […]
ARUMC Litigation Update
The Arkansas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church of Jonesboro have prevailed in their litigation in a lawsuit filed by a group known as First Methodist Church of Jonesboro led by former United Methodist pastor, Mr. John Miles. Permanent possession of the historic church campus located at 801 S. […]
Lakewood UMC Lent project collects books for kids at White Memorial UMC
When Rev. Roy Beth Kelley, senior pastor of Lakewood United Methodist Church, heard from her children’s ministry director, Jill Dillman, that she was planning a used book collection drive for Lent, she immediately connected the dots to the “bus stop ministry” of White Memorial United Methodist Church in Little Rock. While talking to White Memorial […]
Celebrate Her Achievements
Women’s History Month, as Told by Arkansas Clergywomen [originally published in March 2020] In 1981, Congress passed a resolution, signed by President Jimmy Carter, which authorized the first week of March 1982 as Women’s History Week. For the next five years, that resolution continued to be authorized, but in 1987, after a request from the […]
New District Superintendent named to Northwest District
Bishop Laura Merrill has announced her intention to appoint Rev. Roy Beth Kelley as Superintendent of the Northwest District beginning July 1, 2024. Kelley is currently the senior pastor of Lakewood UMC in North Little Rock. She has served as a pastor under appointment for 13 years in various large and small settings, including Dover […]
Bishop Laura Merrill Appoints New District Superintendent
Bishop Laura Merrill has announced her intention to appoint Rev. Davida “DeeDee” M. Autry as Superintendent of the proposed South District of the Arkansas Conference beginning July 1, 2024. Autry is currently serving as executive pastor of First United Methodist Church in Fort Smith. Rev. Autry has served as full-time clergy in the Arkansas Conference […]
Methodist Foundation for Arkansas makes “One More Question” outreach grant come to fruition
Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church Receives “One More Question” Outreach Grant from the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (February 12, 2024) – The Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church was notified recently of a new grant that will benefit local churches with training and micro-grants. The grant aims to deepen […]
Beacon Churches Shine Amidst Disaffiliation in the Arkansas Annual Conference
In the late summer of 2022, several Arkansas United Methodist Churches began seeing an influx of new faces for worship on Sundays and online. Most of these people were not new to United Methodism, and in many cases, they happened to live more than 30 miles away from the new churches they were visiting in […]