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Above: Children who fled the war in Ukraine play at the United Methodist Dorcas church camp in Debrecen, Hungary, where their families have been given shelter. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Amid challenges from an evolving denomination, multiple natural disasters, the war in Ukraine and a continuing struggle to address migration, United Methodists continued to live out their faith and serve their communities in 2022. Photographers from UM News, the denomination's official news service, documented a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.
Women and children who fled their homes in Ukraine to escape the war with Russia are being hosted at the Poušť United Methodist church camp near Bechyně, Czech Republic. Some 19 guests from Ukraine are living at the camp. At center is Alžběta Opočenská, a staff member at the camp. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
At a Sept. 21 memorial service marking the 50th anniversary of martial law in the Philippines, Bishop Ciriaco Francisco, the resident bishop of the Manila Area, holds a sign supporting the Rev. Glofie Baluntong, a United Methodist pastor who has been charged with attempted murder in a case she and her supporters believe was invented to intimidate her. Photo © Paul Jeffrey, Life on Earth Pictures.
The Rev. Jana Krizova gives the sermon during a joint worship service of Czech- and Russian-speaking congregations at Prague 2 United Methodist Church in Prague, Czech Republic. Krizova helps coordinate refugee ministries for the annual conference of The United Methodist Church in Czechia and Slovakia. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Ngongo Asaka smiles after receiving a new bicycle and a Bible as tools for evangelism in Tunda, Congo. Asaka was among 52 pastors of rural United Methodist churches in the area who received the gifts from Crosspoint, a United Methodist church in Niceville, Fla. Photo by Chadrack Londe, UM News.
The Rev. Jack Amick takes a turn on the garden swing at the Poušť United Methodist church camp near Bechyně, Czech Republic, with two girls who fled from their home in Ukraine to escape the war with Russia. Amick is director of Global Migration for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A banner expressing solidarity with Ukraine hangs from Church of St. Salvator in Prague, Czech Republic. In the foreground are statues of the Madonna and St. Bernard by Matěj Václav Jäckel on the Charles Bridge. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Ukrainian children displaced by the war with Russia play in a former office turned playroom at the former newspaper and book publishing plant where they are living in Uzhhorod, Ukraine. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Children listen during worship at Prague 2 United Methodist Church in Prague, Czech Republic. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The gymnasium at the Onokivtsi Secondary School near Uzhhorod, Ukraine, has been turned into a dormitory for single persons who fled their homes elsewhere in Ukraine due to the war with Russia. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Attendees of the Native Moccasins Rock gathering take part in a service of remembrance for missing and murdered indigenous women at Lake Benson Camp in Bon Aqua, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
United Methodist Bishop Christian Alsted prays with Alexandre, who is living in the gymnasium at the Onokivtsi Secondary School near Uzhhorod, Ukraine, after fleeing his home due to the war with Russia. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Toña Rios hands 11-day-old Dina back to her mother after she and Bishop Raquel Balbuena Osorio baptized the child at the Hospitalidad y Solidaridad migrant shelter in Tapachula, Mexico. Dina was born while her family was fleeing El Salvador. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Natasha walks with her son, Artem, at the Poušť United Methodist church camp near Bechyně, Czech Republic, where they are staying. The fled their home near Odesa, Ukraine, to escape the war with Russia. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Pauline Violet Mushati poses with graduates of the United Methodist Church’s Barrington Christian School in Harare, Zimbabwe. Mushati is a teacher at the school, which opened in 2021. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.
The Revs. László Khaled (left) and Üllas Tankler (second from left) pray with the family of Robert, Renatta and their children in the small cabin they share at the United Methodist Dorcas church camp in Debrecen, Hungary, where they are staying after fleeing the war in Ukraine. The family is among many Roma who have found a place of welcome at the camp. Khaled is superintendent of The United Methodist Church in Hungary and Tankler is the European/Eurasian representative of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. YaNi Davis, a hip-hop and spoken word artist, encourages United Women in Faith members to have courage following morning worship at the 2022 United Women in Faith Assembly 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Lynda (left), who fled fighting near Chernobyl, Ukraine, and Juko, who is Romanian, work together at the United Methodist Hotel Hanul Fullton and community center in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Despite not sharing a common language, the two women work together each day to clean rooms at the hotel, where Lynda and other Ukrainian refugees are staying. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Members of the choir sing during a service of Oriental Orthodox evening prayer at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
United Methodist Deaconess Katelin Hansen whispers to her 7-month-old son, Luke, during closing worship at the United Women in Faith Assembly 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Hansen is director of operations and minister of music at Community Development for All People in Columbus, Ohio. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Vladimir Trofimovich, 77, (right) and Sergiy Mikhailovich, 70, from the Kharkiv, Ukraine, region, describe the damage done to their homes by the Russian military. They are living temporarily in the monastery for the Church of the Assumption in Cornești, Romania. The United Methodist Church of Romania is helping provide support there. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Translator Alexandra Aishpur helps explain the image on the cell phone belonging to a refugee from eastern Ukraine who had a Russian missile land in his yard. A group of seniors from the area have taken refuge at the monastery for the Church of the Assumption in Cornești, Romania. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Jack Amick (center, with back to camera) of the United Methodist Committee on Relief leads a prayer for refugees from Ukraine who are living at the monastery for the Church of the Assumption in Cornești, Romania, where The United Methodist Church of Romania is helping provide support. The Rev. Rares Calugar (left, rear), is superintendent of The United Methodist Church in Romania, and translator Alexandra Aishpur (right, rear) joined the prayer. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A guide using a raft made from inner tubes ferries people across the Suchiate River from Guatemala into Mexico near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico. Migrants routinely cross the border into Mexico here, many of them hoping to eventually make their way to the United States. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Children from the Rosa Valdez Early Learning Center at Cornerstone Family Center in Orlando, Florida, sing during the United Women in Faith Assembly 2022 in Orlando. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Harriett Jane Olson gives the keynote address during the closing worship service for the United Women in Faith during their Assembly 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Olson is chief executive officer of United Women in Faith. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Children who fled the war in Ukraine play at the United Methodist Dorcas church camp in Debrecen, Hungary, where their families have been given shelter. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Santos, a migrant from Honduras joins in prayer with fellow travelers before breakfast at the Oasis en el Medio del Camino migrant shelter in Apaxco, Mexico, a ministry of the Methodist Church in Mexico and The United Methodist Committee on Relief. Santos was injured recently when he fell from “The Beast,” a nickname used by migrants to describe the network of freight trains many use to make their way north through Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Rob Martin (center) leads a prayer for United Methodist church leaders and disaster relief workers during an assessment tour outside First United Methodist Church in Mayfield, Ky., which was heavily damaged by a tornado. Martin is assistant to Nashville Area Bishop William McAlilly. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A banner representing solidarity with Ukraine hangs from the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Attendees of the June 13 young adult worship service at First Korean United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Ill., bless each other during a time of praise. Photo by the Rev. Thomas Kim, UM News.
Sergei, who fled the war in Ukraine, washes cars at a business in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, to help support his family. The family is being assisted by The United Methodist Church in Romania. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Snow covers storm debris and personal belongings nearly six weeks after a tornado devastated much of downtown Mayfield, Ky. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Migrant women from Honduras pore over a map of Mexico as they plan their trips north toward the United States. They are resting briefly at the Bethlehem Diocesan shelter in Tapachula, Mexico, after having crossed into Mexico from Guatemala. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Waterlogged hymnals rest in a pew at First United Methodist Church in Mayfield, Ky., after a tornado collapsed the church’s roof. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Joel Hortiales (center) prays with migrants Darwin (left) and Santiago as they wait for a southbound train to pass behind the Oasis en el Medio del Camino migrant shelter in Apaxco, Mexico. Hortiales, a United Methodist missionary and director of Hispanic-Latino ministries and border concerns for the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church, was part of a fact-finding ministry that visited the shelter, which is operated by the Methodist Church of Mexico with support from the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Bishops Felipe Ruiz Aguilar (left) of the Methodist Church in Mexico prays with migrants at the Oasis en el Medio del Camino migrant shelter in Apaxco, Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Sheila Jones (right) joins in a service of remembrance for missing and murdered indigenous women during the Native Moccasins Rock gathering in Bon Aqua, Tenn. The program is sponsored by the Committee on Native American Ministries of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Votive lights float on Lake Benson in remembrance of missing and murdered indigenous women during the Native Moccasins Rock gathering in Bon Aqua, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Tonya Dockery (right) and Linda Quick join in a service of remembrance for missing and murdered indigenous women during the Native Moccasins Rock gathering in Bon Aqua, Tenn. The program is sponsored by the Committee on Native American Ministries of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference of The United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Haitian migrant children attend Sunday school at Seventh Baptist Church in Tapachula, Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Volunteer Lisa Cox climbs the stairs carrying relief supplies at Marjorie Sexton’s home in Pippa Passes, Ky. Sexton had been without electricity since massive flooding caused power outages across the area. Cox is worship leader at Hindman (Ky.) United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Uzi Castañeda Morales of the Methodist Church in Mexico leads a prayer for Nancy, Jose and their 11-day-old daughter, Dina, after the baby was baptized at the Hospitalidad y Solidaridad shelter in Tapachula, Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Migrant children play in a treehouse at the Bethlehem Diocesan shelter in Tapachula, Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Bishop Raquel Balbuena Osorio of the Methodist Church of Mexico and the Rev. Joel Hortiales of the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church pray for Claudia Verenice Cruz Mérida, an attorney and immigration official for the municipality of Tapachula, after she described being overwhelmed by the needs of the thousands of migrants who cross the border from Guatemala there while on their way north. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Members of a volunteer team from the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church clean out a home in Fort Myers, Fla., that was flooded by Hurricane Ian. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Bishop Kenneth H. Carter Jr. (left) and other leaders of the The United Methodist Church pray for the Rev, Debbie Daley-Salinger (wearing purple shirt) at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Fort Myers, Fla., following Hurricane Ian. From left are: Bishop Carter, Debbie Daley-Salinger, the Rev. Debbie Allen, Lara Martin, the Revs. Pam Carter and Alex Shanks. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Charlotte Monaheng holds a sign protesting gender-based violence during a protest march in the Gugulethu community in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Tapiwa Bopoto, UM News.
Friends and family gather to pray for Jake Sherrell, seated in his barber chair, at the Bel-Aire Salon in Nashville, Tenn., where the 96-year-old United Methodist has brought hundreds to Christ over the years. His pastor, the Rev. Paula Smith, (behind Sherrell) led the prayer. Among those joining in were Sherrell’s wife, Rosa, (second from right) and Meredith Portwood (second from left), one of Sherrell’s hospice nurses. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Jake Sherrell puts the finishing touches on a haircut for the Rev. Robert Stout at the Bel-Aire Salon in Nashville, Tenn. Stout, the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Nashville, said Sherrell had been cutting his hair for 30 years. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Paula Smith embraces Jake Sherrell while they sing hymns together at Sherrell’s barbershop. Smith is pastor of Gordon Memorial United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Members of a volunteer team from the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church clear storm debris and damaged kitchen items from a home that was flooded by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Children enjoy play time in “Domino World” at St. John's Church in Karlsruhe during the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Toendepi Samson Marikasi sobs with grief over the loss of his wife, Alice Marikasi, 87, and her sister, Ellah Muti, 90, during a special memorial service at St. James Hwedza United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. Pastor Daniel Luckson consoles him. United Methodist churches in Zimbabwe held services where people who lost loved ones during COVID-19 could gather to console one another and celebrate life — things they were unable to do during pandemic restrictions. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.
United Methodist volunteer Gordan Barber pours storm water from a flooded kitchen drawer down the sink at a home damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Fla. At right is volunteer Tim Ayres. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A light show at Karlsruhe Palace was among the cultural attractions enjoyed by participants at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
A volunteer from the Amish community in Ohio makes plumbing repairs to a home damaged by natural disasters in Lake Charles, La. He did not wish to be named. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Members of a volunteer team from the Amish community in Ohio work on a home that was damaged by multiple natural disasters in Lake Charles, La. They are part of a coalition of the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, and Mennonite Disaster Service. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Amish women sing a hymn during a dinner at University United Methodist Church in Lake Charles, La., to celebrate their two-week stint as volunteers helping to repair storm-damaged homes in the area. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Michelle Harris shows the damage caused when Hurricane Ida tore the roof off the ministry center building that houses Sunday school classrooms at St. Charles United Methodist Church in Destrehan, La. Rain continues to pour through the open roof some six months after the storm due to a dispute with the church’s insurance company. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Piles of insulation and decomposing ceiling tiles lie atop chairs in a Sunday school classroom at St. Charles United Methodist Church in Destrehan, La. The roof of the ministry building was torn off by Hurricane Ida some six months ago and has not yet been repaired due to a dispute with the church’s insurance company. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Michelle White, pastor of Winamac United Methodist Church in Winamac, Ind., holds a rooster that is part of the Mission Huku project in the Makoni Buhera District of Zimbabwe. Photo by Kudzai Chingwe, UM News.
United Methodist volunteer Stan Smith removes rotted closet doors from a bedroom covered in mold at a home damaged by Hurricane Ida in Thibodaux, La. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Sharon Austin, a candidate for bishop from the Florida Conference, is supported by another delegate during the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference meeting in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Austin withdrew her candidacy Nov. 3 and described the process as “humiliating.” Two United Methodist jurisdictions on opposite sides of the U.S. grappled with the problem of racism in their midst. Photo by Ben Smith, Southeastern Jurisdiction.
Metropolitan Serapion (right) joins other Oriental Orthodox leaders in leading the evening prayer service at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. The assembly took place Aug. 31 to Sept. 8 under the theme "Christ's Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity." Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Incense smoke rises from a censer during the evening prayer service at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Pacific Islander dancers help lead opening worship at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Delegates and guests sing during the morning prayer service at the World Council of Churches' 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Volunteer Lisa Cox unloads relief supplies for a flooding survivor in Pippa Passes, Ky. Cox is worship leader of Hindman (Ky.) United Methodist Church. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Jordan Haney holds his 8-month-old daughter, Jordyn, during worship at John Wesley United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Pastor Tim Jackson serves Holy Communion at Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Teacher Thembakazi Bojana works with students at the Nomaxabiso Centre for Children in the Philippi neighborhood of Cape Town, South Africa. The center, which receives support from The United Methodist Church, serves children with special educational needs. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Siyanda Bojana greets visitors at the Nomaxabiso Centre for Children, Cape Town, South Africa. The center, which receives support from The United Methodist Church, serves children with special educational needs. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Karen Bunn (left) visits with Dolly Barnett amid growing piles of relief supplies donated for flood survivors at United Methodist Mountain Mission in Jackson, Ky. Bunn is the center’s executive director and Barnett is employed there. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
The Rev. Roy Harlow prays with flood survivor Jennifer Taylor outside her home in Wayland, Ky. Harlow is pastor of Graceway United Methodist Church in nearby Langley. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
July Ling gets a little help from her daughter, Eunice, 2, during World Communion Sunday at Hillcrest United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. The family is part of the El Shaddai congregation that worships in Nepali. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
Jose, a migrant from Argentina, sits with his dog on the railroad tracks behind the Casa de la Sagrada Familia shelter in Apizaco, Mexico. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.
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