News Archive

The 2024 session of the Oklahoma Annual Conference is scheduled for Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1, in Oklahoma City. Sessions will be held at Oklahoma City University and Chapel Hill ...

BY REV. DERREK BELASE You are probably hearing that the General Conference of the United Methodist Church is coming up very soon. In fact, delegates from around the world will gather in Charlotte, NC ...

Legislation to provide for Worldwide Regionalization reflects the strong values of equity, respect for contextual mission settings, effective mutuality in mission, and legislative equality for ...

BY JENNIFFER HENDRICKS Caddo, Oklahoma, is located in north central Bryan County. It was named for the nearby Caddo Hills, site of an 1808 battle between the Caddo and Choctaw. The area was formally ...

BY CARMEN STAFFORD That’s right friends! It really happened. What a blessing it was to participate in that joyous occasion! I don’t know much at all about sports writing, but I know a lot about ...

BY REV. JOHN MILLER As we approach the season of Lent in reflection, and preparation for Easter, it’s essential to consider the meaningful ways in which we observe this period. One aspect that often ...

BY MEREDITH DAVISON AND CAITLIN DRYKE This past fall, Smiles of Faith, a mobile dental clinic, began seeing patients for free dental care. It was a day that had been in the works for a long time. Dr. ...

At the meeting of the Clergy Orders and Fellowship on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, Bishop Jimmy Nunn, on behalf of the Council of Bishops, honored Rev. Katie Paul with a certificate of completion from ...

Faith and community leaders are early responders to crises within their communities. The Trauma-Informed Faith Communities project of Crisis Care Ministries can help you be more trauma-informed and ...

The evening circle of United Women in Faith at Altus Grace UMC formed in January 2023. From this ecumenical group of working and retired ladies came the idea of a mission to assist others in our ...

BY TRICIA K. BROWN 1. Take a timeout. Church leadership is challenging. If you find yourself increasingly frustrated, depressed or stressed, put yourself in timeout. Find a nice, quiet spot alone, and...

BY MICHAELA DRAIN It is difficult to listen to stories in which you or someone you love is the bad guy. There are a lot of things that must go right to make this moment healing. The storyteller must ...

BY REV. DERREK BELASE The month of January is designated as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The United Methodist program calendar designates January 11 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Bishop ...

BY SONJA TOBEY At our recent meeting of the orders, we discussed self-care particularly as it pertains to mental health. I, as many others, have typically received the mixed signals of “self-care” and...

In today’s digital society, a website is often more important than a building’s location, curb appeal, or signage. It’s important to ensure that your church has a robust, dynamic website that shares ...

Fostering children is a desperate need across the country. In Oklahoma, one Second Mile Ministry has risen to the challenge. The organization, Circle of Care, couldn’t do what it does without the help...

BY JOAN CUNDIFF HUBBARD In 1987, our choir director Jane Armstrong showed up at Perkins First UMC like Mary Poppins with multiple black suitcases and a smile on her face. She had purchased some ...

There’s a distinct emotion that you can only access when you’re engaged in loving service to people who are invisible to most of society. Maybe it’s a certain species of joy. Perhaps it’s a fraternity...

The disciples had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. When Jesus appears to them after his resurrection, he said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find ...

Conference staff share some of their favorite family recipes

With 139 fewer churches following the 2023 spate of closures and disaffiliations, the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church is in a position to make some decisions that are challenging ...

BY REV. CHUCK HORTON Early morning on the Monday after Thanksgiving, three organ experts from Church Organ Solutions in McKinney, Texas arrived at First United Methodist Church in Weatherford, ...

Rev. David Sanders, retired elder, passed away Wednesday, November 22, at his home in Chelsea, OK. David, along with his wife, Paula, had served the Chelsea Memorial UMC for 18 years up to the ...

BY REBEKAH HASTY Recently three representatives from the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference office attended Train-theTrainer: Safer Sanctuaries, in Kansas City, Missouri. Nancy Hamilton, Wanda ...

Dec. 25-26 - Ministry Center closed for Christmas. January 1 - Ministry Center closed for New Year’s Day. January 6 - Called Conference via Zoom. January 15 - Ministry Center closed for Martin ...

DALLAS (SMU) – The Lilly Endowment-funded initiative at Perkins School of Theology, “Testimony HQ,” has selected 11 congregations for the third and final cohort of developing thriving congregations ...

Speaking of youth and young adults, those who are heading for college should be interested in the following news. General Board of Higher Education and Ministry offers scholarships to students ...

BY MICHAELA DRAIN In the wake of many churches finding their way to separate, the Wichitas District Youth found a way to draw closer together. The inaugural Wichitas District Youth Rally on November ...

Currently, over 500 names are on lists across the state. Those names are members whose churches are now something other than United Methodist, and who are left without a home church. Forty churches ...

Five million dollars of medical debt has been abolished for the western half of the state of Oklahoma, including Oklahoma County. And it all began with paying off the church mortgage. In January of ...

by Ginger Strong Yukon is the Czech Capital of Oklahoma. It has been celebrating Czech heritage for many years. The community’s tradition is to have the Czech Festival on the first Saturday of ...

During the last day of the last of three special called conferences set to decide disaffiliations, the moon and sun danced across the sky, perfectly illustrating the fleeting nature of darkness in the...

by Megan Pippin On the morning of October 8, 2023, the sun was shining, and members of Grace United Methodist Church were ready to open their doors for their Grand Launch event. Grace UMC is led by ...

Donald Lee Harris, father of retired elder Rob Harris, and father in law to Trish Harris, full-time local pastor at Spencer/Nicoma Park, passed away October 9, 2023, at age 94 in Yukon, Okla. Harris ...

By Marlys Cervantes First United Methodist Church members began their observance of 130 years of service to the Ponca City community by hosting a “Stitches Through Time” quilt show honoring works from...

November. 11 - Veterans Day. November 22-23 - Ministry Center closed, Thanksgiving. December. 25-26 - Ministry Center closed, Christmas.

By Tabitha Beckman On October 15, the day after the special called conference, a group of OKUMC conference members and a few members from Arkansas and Texas conferences went down to Rio Bravo, Mexico ...

by ViaFaith McCullough As a child, I participated in Project Transformation Oklahoma at Quayle United Methodist Church and Chapel Hill United Methodist Church. I was a camper at Quayle UMC from ...

Oklahoma City Quayle United Methodist Church, located in northeast Oklahoma City, celebrated 133 years of ministry. The theme for the month-long celebration in September was “Homecoming: Welcome one ...

Annual enrollment for 2024 will be open November 1-16. For help deciding which plan is right for individuls or families, the Alex Tool is available. The plan comparison chart, premium pricing deck, ...

Young worshipers crowded into Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel on the Oklahoma City University campus along with a choir and an ensemble composed of wind instruments. With a welcoming message at the ...

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court convened to hear arguments from the Oklahoma conference and representatives from Church of the Servant and First Church OKC. The nine justices gave 25 ...

Rebekah Hasty Youth came from across the state for the largest CCYM gathering since Covid. Our Oklahoma youth were joined by music students from Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) in El Paso, Texas. On ...

Retired elder Rev. Ed Cook passed away Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Before entering ministry, he earned his degree in hotel and restaurant management, serving as regional vice president of Jerry’s ...

Grace UMC New Church Launch | Oct. 8, Grace UMC, Claremore Special Called Conference | Oct. 13-14, 2023, OKC Community College. Manos Juntas mission trip | Oct. 15-19, Manos Juntas, Mexico. To ...

The Special Called Conference of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church will begin with registration, which is open 3 to 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13. Worship begins at 6:30 p.m., and ...

Trinity and Spencer Memorial UMCs are two different churches, but they do have some very important things in common. For starters, they’re both faithful United Methodist churches located in Muskogee. ...