The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church voted Saturday to accept the decision of 261 congregations to leave the denomination over a divide on LGBTQ issues. As of early August 2023, over 6,000 congregations of just over 30,000 in the United States have been approved for disaffiliation since 2019, according to the UMC’s website. The 261 churches now leaving the North Georgia Conference of the UMC account for a sizable percentage of its nearly 700 churches, according to the conference’s website.
Walker County’s Division of Family and Children Services needs the community’s help to make Christmas wishes come true for children in foster care. DFCS just launched this year’s Secret Santa program. There are several ways you can participate. One way is sponsoring a child in foster care. You can fill out a form online to receive the child’s wish list. You can also check out the Secret Santa Amazon Wish List and buy individual items within your budget. These gifts will be shipped directly to the Walker County DFCS Office.
Hamilton County has arrested a man wanted by the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office says that Lonnie Alan Keown was wanted in Fort Oglethorpe on charges of aggravated sodomy and exploitation and intimidation of a disabled adult. Keown is currently in the Hamilton County Jail awaiting extradition to Georgia.
