by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Apr 16, 2020
For decades all signs have pointed to the decreasing role of religion in American life. Then came the pandemic. Churches, uniquely suited to provide meaning in uncertain times, quickly moved worship online. In the process, congregations filled a sudden need for...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Apr 3, 2019
There’s a lot of talking past each other right now. Listening, true listening, seems harder than ever. Add to that the polarizing results of General Conference 2019 and it’s a wonder United Methodists can hear each other at all. At a recent district event, six...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Mar 13, 2019
Jesus survived the temptations of the wilderness because of his spiritual grounding and his guidance by God. Another factor empowered him as well: his emotional intelligence. Jesus had his wits about him. He never could have survived otherwise. The UMC faces its own...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Mar 6, 2019
As we begin the Lenten journey, we in the UMC traverse a strange road. We will walk through the 40 days of Lent and into Easter Sunday all before the Judicial Council meets to determine the constitutionality of General Conference decisions. In other words, we will...
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Feb 27, 2019
By now you know that it was a brutal General Conference. Personally, I was in favor of the One Church Plan. I thought it was a gracious acknowledgment of our varying cultural contexts, biblical sensibilities, and deeply held convictions. It didn’t pronounce each...
