By Jessica Brodie. To see. To analyze. To discover. To describe. To understand. And then to craft a unique plan for United Methodist churches to engage their Latino neighbors. That was the plan behind this year’s Pentecost Journey training, held by the South Carolina Conference Nov. 18-19 at Aldersgate UMC, Greenville.

The bishop of the Evangelical United Methodist Church of Ecuador has written a letter to South Carolina Resident Bishop Jonathan Holston thanking him and others from the South Carolina Conference for their mission efforts in Ecuador, both in 2016 and in years past.

By Channon Watkins. Four years into her new role as a United Methodist deaconess, Selena Smith is still on fire for the denomination—and for her chosen ministry focus of firefighting.

Everything Kristen Wheeler and her husband, Blake, have accumulated in seven years is gone. “It’s only overwhelming when I think about it,” Wheeler told the Advocate, her eyes welling up with tears as she stood outside her hurricane-ravaged home. But thanks to the efforts of 236 United Methodist volunteers from across South Carolina, the Wheelers and other families in the Nichols/Mullins area have new hope and a strong feeling of Christian love and support. The South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church held a work blitz in Nichols/Mullins Dec. 2-3, doing tear-out and mold remediation for 18 flooded homes in preparation for the next step: long-term recovery and rebuild. Jessica Brodie has the story.

By Jessica Brodie. Six weeks after Hurricane Matthew ravaged South Carolina, The United Methodist Church is shifting to the next level of disaster aid, going beyond early response to more comprehensive relief. The relief phase will officially kick off the weekend of Dec. 2-3, when the conference holds a work blitz in Nichols, a Marion District town devastated by the October storm.

By Jessica Brodie. While much of the current disaster focus centers on Hurricane Matthew relief, many South Carolina families are still struggling because of a different storm: the October 2015 flood. Ward Smith, conference recovery ministries director, said the latest flood work is “progressing well, but we need to do more.” He said it is absolutely critical that South Carolina volunteer teams step up to help.

By Jessica Brodie. South Carolina’s General Conference delegates are in prayer this month as plans develop for a special 2019 General Conference session to explore issues of homosexuality and church unity.

By Jessica Brodie. This Christmas, one United Methodist church is grateful for the gift of love and support shown to them after a robbery and series of racial threats sent them to their knees.

By Jessica Brodie. As year-end giving season enters its final phase, conference financial leaders remain hopeful that churches will continue their strong showing and achieve 91 percent for the second year running.

In light of some post-election racism and other acts of hate and division seen across the nation, including hostile actions at a United Methodist youth event in North Carolina, the South Carolina Conference’s Hispanic/Latino Task Force has drafted an open letter to the conference. The letter calls for neighborly love, denounces hateful rhetoric and urges United Methodists in South Carolina to stand up against racism

By Jessica Brodie. Bishop Jonathan Holston and other conference leaders continue their 12-district Bishop’s Forward Focus Tour this month with stops in the Hartsville and Florence districts. This is the third year in a row the bishop has done an intentional statewide tour with stops in every district.

By Ronnie Musselwhite. Four years. A lot can happen in the span of 1,460 days. Presidents can change. Olympic records can be shattered. Kids can graduate from college. And in the case of Anna and Tracy Musselwhite, two young members of Hibben United Methodist Church, Mount Pleasant, a small lemonade stand can grow into an initiative that has raised several thousand dollars for a deserving charity.