Florida Annual Conference

An abandoned church building in Ocala, Fla., is now Compassion United Methodist Church. Photo courtesy of the Florida Conference.

Hope, care and a way forward

Compassion was in short supply outside the abandoned church in Ocala, Florida. Now under the leadership of the Rev. Jill Beck, the building houses Compassion United Methodist Church — a safe haven for women battling addictions or fleeing abusive situations.

Faith Stories

Retired Bishop Timothy Whitaker, who served as resident bishop of the Florida Conference from 2001 to 2012, died March 28. Photo courtesy of the Florida Conference.

Bishop faced death — and wrote about it

Leader of The United Methodist Church’s Florida Conference from 2001 to 2012, retired Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker has died at age 75.

Local Church

Kim and Keven Woodard (second and third from right) from Temple Terrace United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida, welcome Dima and Daria Vyshniak to America. Dima and Daria Vyshniak recently arrived in the United States, fleeing the war in their native Ukraine. Their home had been leveled by Russian missiles, but they were able to immigrate to the U.S. through a federal program called Uniting for Ukraine. Photo courtesy of the Florida Conference.

Ukrainian couple finds new church family

Dima and Daria Vyshniak recently arrived in the United States, fleeing the war in their native Ukraine. Their home had been leveled by Russian missiles, but they were able to immigrate to the U.S. through a federal program called Uniting for Ukraine. They were greeted at the airport by members of Temple Terrace United Methodist Church.

Mission and Ministry

Light spills from the doorway and stained glass windows of Central United Methodist Church of Quéssua, part of the Quéssua Mission in east Angola. Established in the late 1800s by Methodist missionaries and destroyed by almost three decades of civil war that ended in 2002, the mission is being rebuilt, bringing education, healthcare and food security to people in a rural valley near the provincial capital of Malanje. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Lighting the way in Angola

Since the late 19th century, the Methodist mission station in Quéssua has supported the physical and spiritual needs of the villagers in this rural area. In April, a Volunteers in Mission team from Florida traveled to Quéssua for a variety of projects, ranging from medical to nutritional to infrastructure.

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