The Worldwide United Methodist Church sent a message to Texas during the General Conference held in Ft. Worth, TX. The General Conference passed a resolution calling for the specific abolition of the death penalty in Texas. The United Methodist Church has had a position against the use of the death penalty for more than 50 years and reaffirmed that specific position in separate resolutions for the whole church as well.

The Duke Endowment has awarded Duke Divinity School $12 million to lead a wide-ranging effort that aims to assess, track and improve the health of every United Methodist pastor in North Carolina, Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead announced Tuesday.