NASHVILLE, November 2018 – The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) assembled a group of over 50 clergy and church leaders for an intensive three-day assessment of current and future use of digital resources. The group is a subset of the 63-member advisory panel representing churches of many sizes and types, and they gathered at UMPH’s Nashville headquarters November 12-14 as part of a year-long project of systematic research in ministry applications for digital media.

Nashville, October 2018 - The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) has launched an intensive project to gather insights about effective ministries in congregations across The United Methodist Church. At a recent learning event for staff executives, a local pastor, an associate clergy member, and an elder spent several hours along with their district superintendent painting a vivid picture of congregations and their ministries. Representing local churches ranging in size from 8 in Sunday worship to 425 members, the pastors described evangelistic outreach, vibrant worship, cross-congregational collaboration, working on community issues such as health care, drug addiction, education, and hunger, and creative ways for people to engage in life-changing Bible study.

NASHVILLE, July 2018— Abingdon Press has published a new book dealing with immigration and cross-cultural friendships, Luis y Mia/Mia and Luis.

Luis y Mia/Mia and Luis is a flip-over book that tells the story of two children, Luis and Mia, from each child’s perspective, in both English and Spanish. Their stories begin when Mia, who is white, makes a culturally insensitive remark to Luis, who is Mexican-American. Mia’s story explores important issues such as what makes someone American, biblical perspectives on immigrants, and how to make amends. Luis’s story explores issues such as cultural pride, challenges faced by immigrants, and forgiveness.