UM & Global Announces Hiatus

UM & Global is announcing that, as of this post, it is going on a hiatus. We are taking a break from our publication schedule while we address some technical issues with the site and re-evaluate our editorial purpose. In the meantime, you can continue to follow @globalumc on Twitter for reposts of news related to mission and worldwide Methodism.

The primary impulse for this hiatus is that the platform the blog uses, Blogger, is now only being minimally supported by Google, its parent company, and has lost features. In particular, the function that sends notifications of new posts to readers has disappeared. Several of you have commented to me on its loss, and analytics show that this does seem to be impacting our site traffic. Currently, there is no alternative notification system available on Blogger. I want to explore other possible platforms for the blog, but since UM & Global is (and has always been) a one-person team run in addition to other full-time duties, I lack the bandwidth to do that while also continuing to produce regular content for the site.

On another level, this is a chance to not just tweak features but rethink how the blog functions. There has been a lot that has changed about the world, about The United Methodist Church, about mission, and about online fora for discussion since the blog launched. Indeed, the rise of new online platforms such as YouTube, podcasts, Substack, and various social media outlets has challenged the idea of what a blog is and should do. A hiatus will also create space to think about how UM & Global fits into the information landscape within and beyond the church in 2023.

Furthermore, a pause to reassess the purpose and function of the blog seems well timed given the accomplishments of the blog and the landmarks it has reached. UM & Global launched on March 3rd, 2013, so we have published for ten years now, and this is our 1200th post! Over those ten years and 1200 posts, the site has hosted a lot of good writing by about 120 different authors. Whatever comes next for the blog, this body of work is an accomplishment that all those who have contributed to the blog can be proud of.

I am not yet sure what the timeline for the hiatus or the next steps will be, but I anticipate that one way or another, there will still be demand for reflective, high-quality analysis related to “fostering conversations about the global nature of The United Methodist Church,” as the tagline for the blog has been. When we come back from this hiatus, UM & Global will continue to advance that mission.

Dr. David W. Scott
Blogmaster, UM & Global