News Archive

If anything at Oklahoma’s Annual Conference could symbolize the state’s United Methodist Women, it would be the cookies. Long before the second day of annual conference was scheduled to start, tables ...

Charis Character Camp drew new families in to Charis Alive. Camp was held at OKC-Church of the Servant on June 3-7. With a team of 20 members, this splash event drew more visibility in the Asian ...

Nine leaders completed the 2019 Local Pastors Licensing School, held June 14-21 on the campus of Oklahoma City University. Front row, from left: Shalon Reynolds, Jim Markley, Jess Barr, Kira Calhoun,...

Grants up to $10,000 will be available this fall from Discipleship Ministries to strengthen the leadership training, small groups, worship, stewardship and spiritual formation in ethnic local United ...

Mary Myers, the Information Technology Director for the Oklahoma Conference, was recognized for her work with an Express Employment Professionals Most Valuable Performer Award. Myers was nominated by ...

Neighborhood Services Organziation, better known as NSO, serves some of the most vulnerable populations in the Oklahoma City community. “At NSO, we provide housing and health care services to the ...

Skyline Urban Ministry Gala An Evening with Ron Hall | Aug. 9 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum VIP Meet and Greet at 5:30 p.m. Gala at 7:00 p.m. Tickets: $125. Table sponsorships ...

By Meagan Ewton With minimal discussion and a show of hands, the Oklahoma Annual Conference voted to pass two major changes to clergy and staff benefits: recalculating a retiree subsidy according to ...

The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference is one of three missionary conferences in the United States and has been established for 175 years. According to the General Commission on Archives and ...

A casual conversation with Rev. Dr. Amy Valdez Barker By Meagan Ewton Rev. Dr. Amy Valdez Barker is the executive director for the Global Mission Connections Unit at Global Ministries. She sat down ...

The first edition of “Who Is My Neighbor?: Native American Methodism in Oklahoma – a Study Guide” is now available from the OKUMC Commission on Archives and History. Free to download at ...

Oklahoma City University will expand its satellite nursing program at Duncan Regional Hospital to include the Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton, starting with the fall semester in August. ...

NEWLY ORDAINED ELDERS — Front row, from left: C. Craig Clark, Jay A. Henderson, Susan E. Rice, Kristen A. Melton, Kaela E. P. Burdge. Back row, from left: Board of Ordained Ministry Vice ...

David Jones, who retired in September 2018 after 20 years of service, died on June 1. David served as a licensed local pastor at Tipton, Manitou, Lawton-New Light and Hulen. Service was held on June 6...

Worship Design Studio Worship Planning Retreat | Aug. 18-21 OKC-St. Luke’s, 222 NW 15th St., Oklahoma City Single Ticket: $350 | Team of 2-4: $550 Team of 5-8: $750 Register online at wds.events/plann...

By David Wilson The Giving of Ourselves” was the theme for the 175th session of The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, held June 6-8 at the Northeast Region Center at Preston, Oklahoma. The ...

A conversation with Dr. Earl and Bernice Mitchell Oklahoma history is alive in a serene single-story home in Stillwater. It has all the hallmarks of a well-loved home, including paintings by a ...

"This isn’t northwest Oklahoma; this is the Panhandle.” David Player was appointed the pastor at Victory Guymon after serving in southwest Oklahoma for more than a decade. When he remarked to a member...

On February 21, 2015, the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church announced the first recipients of a new kind of grant: New People New Places. A total of 24 projects received $629,665 in ...

By Meagan Ewton As severe weather continues to disrupt the Midwest, residents of Oklahoma are facing near-historic levels of flooding and preparing for the aftermath. As of May 23, the Oklahoma ...

The Oklahoma Annual Conference is thankful for the service of this year’s retiring clergy, deacons, missionaries and ministry leaders. The Service of Recognition of Retirees will take place on ...

Book by Rev. Brian Matthews Reviewed by Dr. Roberto Escamilla Books of sermons abound; some of them are undoubtedly helpful. However, this collection is indeed different. “More Than Miracles” has some...

The Board of Pension and Health Benefits has outlined its recommendations to the Oklahoma Annual Conference in a video statement on the Conference website. In addition to the video, the BPHB has also ...

A new event will help church leaders to better connect with aging members, including those who have Alzheimer’s or dementia. “Connect, Create, Contribute: the Church’s Ministry with the Aging and ...

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In response to the growing needs of children and families in crisis across Oklahoma, and in the fulfillment of the mission of providing Christian help, healing and hope, the Board of Directors of The ...

New People New Places challenges churches to see and reach more of the people in their neighborhoods and communities, and help them grow into disciples of Jesus Christ. The goal is to introduce a new ...

What began as a singular response to an act of intolerance has grown into an annual celebration of diversity and inclusion on the campus of Oklahoma City University. In 2008, the students of OCU ...

By Tabitha Beckman At the end of March, a Delegation from the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church traveled to South America to covenant with the United Methodist conferences in Bolivia ...

Rev. Dr. William Robert (Billy Bob) Chace, a retired elder, passed away on April 7 at his home in Stillwater at the age of 83. He served several churches in Oklahoma from 1960 to 1999. A service was ...

Native American Ministries Sunday | May 5 Leaders kit available online at www.umcgiving.org/resource-articles/native-american-ministries-sunday-pastor-and-leaders-kit Passing the Baton | May 18 For ...

Dear Worship Leader, Native American Ministries Sunday celebrates and supports the 157 Native American United Methodist churches that are part of the denomination. On May 5, our special offering helps...

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has changed the Saint Paul School of Theology’s academic status from “Accredited – Probation” to “Accredited.” The seminary was placed on probation in February ...

In February, the Contact reported that Oklahoma Conference apportionment data would be published beginning in April 2019. Because the first quarter ends after the April issue’s publication date, the ...

The Judicial Council will review both the Traditional Plan and the disaffiliation petition passed during the 2019 General Conference (GC2019) when they hold their next regular meeting April 23-26 in ...

Volunteers at Owasso-First hosted a Vacation Bible School Training Day on March 2. Participants learned to make stage decorations (pictured), create “moon rocks,” and use the rocks for science. ...

The Oklahoma Conference has been working on formalizing covenant partnerships in ministry and mission with FIVE conferences within our Methodist family: Bolivia, Eastern Mexico, Chile, Colombia and...

Oklahoma City University’s Kramer School of Nursing recently received a gift creating “The Kramer Way” scholarship, which will provide $400,000 for 10 new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students...

The Oklahoma Conference Camps ministry is hiring workers for the summer season. OKUMC Camps have three camp sites across the state: Canyon Camp in Hinton, Camp Egan in Tahlequah, and Cross Point in ...

Sara Cope died on March 17 in Ardmore. She was the widow of former pastor and district superintendent Burney Cope, who died in 2011. A memorial service was held on March 20 at Mannsville UMC.

Registration for the 2019 Oklahoma Annual Conference is now open and available at www.okumc.org/annual_conference. This year’s theme is “Living Hope.” The 2019 Annual Conference will take place May ...

Metro Retired Clergy and Spouses Luncheon | April 25 11:30 a.m. | Yukon-First, 400 Elm St. | Cost: $10 Rev. Charla Gwartney, Chair of the Conference Board of Pensions, to speak about changes to the ...

The guest speaker for the 2019 Oklahoma Annual Conference takes the conference theme “Living Hope” to heart. From serving on global boards of the United Methodist Church as a teenager to helping ...

By Amy S. Neathery The Blessing Box movement has spread to El Reno, bringing blessings of non-perishable food to those in need. El Reno-Wesley installed the city’s first Blessing Box in July 2018. El ...

Circle of Care will host their 2019 Friends of Children Banquet on April 6 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The keynote speaker will be Jason Johnson. Johnson and his wife became ...

By Meagan Ewton Feather boas and sparkles abounded at the annual Father Daughter Valentine Dance at Enid-First. The annual dance started in 2000 with a gathering of dads and daughters from the ...

By Tabitha Beckman On Feb. 17, Charis Alive hosted a Lunar New Year celebration at OKC-Church of the Servant. “We put this celebration together because this is one event that will draw a lot of the ...

“I was in prison, and you visited me.” (Matt 25:37)   These are words that Criminal Justice & Mercy Ministries takes to heart. With Oklahoma being the state with the highest incarceration rate in the ...

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) in Nashville has selected Oklahoma City University as the site of their North American Leadership, Education, and Development (LEaD) Hub. ...