The wonderful Katherine Kersten of the Star—Tribune in Minnesota covers the decline of the United Methodist Church in Minnesota, as it increasingly devotes itself to left wing activism. This is territory covered for us by Matt May, with reference to another Upper Midwest state beginning with M: Michigan. Ms Kersten writes: Clearly, Methodist Church leaders are an energetic lot. Why, then, is United Methodist membership heading south? Here in Minnesota, church membership fell from 121,000 in 1980 to 95,000 in 2000, according to the Atlanta—based Glenmary Research Center. Minnesota Methodists reported 86,000 members in 2004. [....] Why the sagging Methodist numbers? Perhaps many folks in the pews don't share their leadership's left—wing political agenda. Today, the average United Methodist would probably be uneasy about gutting America's defense budget when Iran is on the fast track to building nuclear weapons. But there may be a deeper answer. Most people...(Read Full Post)