Council of Bishops - The United Methodist Church

09/02/2026

UMC mourns death of Bishop Mutti

Council of Bishops President Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. offered this tribute: “Bishop Mutti lived his ministry with a quiet strength and a generous spirit. He carried the love of Christ into every room he entered. His witness will continue to shape our Church for generations.”

08/12/2026

The strongest earthquake Colombia has ever recorded struck Chocó on August 10. Families are still searching for the missing.

"Those who suffer there are not strangers to us. They are family," writes Bishop Rubén Saenz Jr., president of the Council of Bishops, in a new pastoral letter calling the church to prayer and to give through UMCOR.

Following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the department of Chocó, Colombia, on August 10, 2026, Council of Bishops President Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. offers a pastoral letter of lament, prayer, and solidarity to the people of Colombia. The letter names the hardest-hit communities, points to...

07/14/2026

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

After Monday's fatal shooting of Joan Sebastian Guerrero during a federal immigration operation in Biddeford, Maine, the people of the New England and New York Annual Conferences are responding as the church: gathering with their neighbors in prayer and peaceful witness, and opening their congregations as places of welcome and refuge.

In a message released today, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton grieves Mr. Guerrero's death, joins Maine's Governor and congressional delegation in calling for a full, fair, and transparent investigation, and speaks directly to immigrant neighbors: "If you need someone to pray with, sit with, or simply listen, our United Methodist churches are here. Please do not fear or grieve alone. We stand with you."

Read Bishop Bickerton's full message: https://neumc-email.brtapp.com/viewinsite/27b2a2868353c2b5e893c7f3380df2e2

07/14/2026

The United Methodist Immigration Task Force grieves the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, whose life was taken during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Houston's East End neighborhood.

"We denounce the actions that led to his death and reject any system that treats immigrant lives as disposable."

The task force, convened by Bishop Minerva Carcaño and speaking with one voice for United Methodist agencies, racial-ethnic plans and caucuses, calls for a full, transparent and independent investigation. The statement offers ways United Methodists can pray, act and stand with immigrant neighbors, with resources from Church and Society, UMCOR, GCORR, El Plan, and other partner agencies.

Read the full statement:

United Methodist statement denouncing the fatal ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, calling for an independent investigation, witness protection, and ICE accountability.

07/10/2026

United Methodist bishops in Texas have issued a pastoral statement following the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Houston on July 7. He was a husband, a father of three, and for nearly thirty-five years a neighbor who built homes across his city.

"This is a moral wound to our whole community, and we will not look away from it," write Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey and Bishop Rubén Saenz Jr. in the joint statement of the Texas, Rio Texas, and Horizon Texas conferences and Texas Impact. They call for an independent and transparent investigation, meaningful policy change, and an end to enforcement that makes our neighbors afraid.

The Council of Bishops joins in prayer for the Salgado Araujo family, for the communities of Houston's East End, those who grieve and in the church's abiding hope for truth, healing, and the peace of Christ.

July 10, 2026 A Pastoral Statement on the Death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo A collaborative statement of the Texas Annual Conference, the Rio ...

06/30/2026

The Council of Bishops has issued a pastoral letter in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decisions on Temporary Protected Status and asylum and its ruling upholding birthright citizenship.

Bishop Rubén Saenz Jr., president of the Council of Bishops, writes to the whole church:

  “So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” — ...

06/27/2026

Our hearts are with the people of Venezuela.

Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., President of the Council of Bishops, offers a pastoral letter and a prayer in the wake of the earthquake - and an invitation to respond through UMCOR.

"When one member suffers, all suffer together."

https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/pastoral-letter-for-venezuela-19884902

UMCOR - United Methodist Committee On Relief

05/20/2026

UMC Bishops defend voting rights

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is acutely aware of, and deeply concerned about, the recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to deny protection to Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.

05/05/2026

Bishop Saenz is new COB President

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church concluded its spring meeting on Friday, May 1, following a week marked by daily worship, fellowship, leadership transitions, and substantive conversations on the church’s mission in a complex world.

04/29/2026

UMC Bishops are meeting in the semi-annual gathering in Jacksonville, Florida. Here are some group pictures of the Bishops. Can you identify your bishops? COB photos by Paul Gomez and Maidstone Mulenga