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Some came wanting a new denomination. Others said they prefer, for now, to keep working within the United Methodist Church.

But all who attended a UM-Forward event held March 6–8 expressed commitment to gospel-based activism on various fronts, namely LGBTQ inclusion, but also reparations, workers’ rights, and climate change.

The Dallas gathering, called Trail­blazing the Liberation Methodist Church, was held at Preston Hollow United Methodist Church, and the agenda in­cluded work toward forming a new denomination, as well as strategizing for the 2020 General Conference.

United Methodist theological colleges in East Africa now can deliver education at a distance.

A new United Methodist e-Academy was launched in December in Kenya after a week of training for leaders of four United Methodist East African theological colleges.

The goal of the program, which was funded by Cliff College in Sheffield, England, and the Endowment Fund for Theological Education in the Central Conferences, is to equip people for ordained and lay leadership in rural communities.