Alabama
United Methodist General Conference Alabama delegates: Removing anti-LGBTQ language top priority
United Methodist delegates from Alabama will be in Charlotte on Tuesday for the start of the United Methodist General Conference, the denomination’s worldwide policy-making meeting that continues through May 3.
Delegates say the big issues are best summed up as the three R’s: Removal of harmful language regarding homosexuality; regionalization allowing more self-governing in different parts of the world; and revising the Social Principles.
“Those are the three big ones, and they’re big,” said the Rev. Kelly Clem, a retired minister for the North Alabama Conference and one of 862 voting delegates.
See also:
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More than half of United Methodist churches have departed in Alabama, and a quarter nationwide in a denominational split. Most assume that the General Conference will have less conservative resistance to issues such as changing the denomination’s bans on same-sex marriage and ordaining openly gay clergy.
Clem says she believes this denominational meeting will be smoother than past ones she has attended, since those who didn’t want to be in the denomination any longer have mostly left.
“I feel very hopeful about General Conference this time,” Clem said. “I think there’s a lot of unity and hopefulness about our moving forward as the United Methodist Church, as a denomination. The temperature has been significantly lowered.”
Lisa Keys-Mathews, lay leader of the North Alabama Conference and a reserve delegate at the General Conference, said she believes there are enough conservative activists left in the denomination to strongly resist all the progressive proposals.
“There are some super negative voices coming out that are still part of the United Methodist Church,” Keys-Mathews said. “I find that sad, and hurtful.”
On the issue of removing language such as calling homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching,” there is still contention, she said.
“There are loud voices on both ends,” Keys-Mathews said. “There are people intent on causing chaos at General Conference. That disturbs me. That saddens me.”
The Rev. Brian Erickson, senior pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church of Homewood and a reserve clergy delegate, thinks there’s an opportunity for change.
“I think the proposal to remove the language around homosexuality is the most fair and balanced and frankly moderate approach going forward because it leaves the most space for our differences,” he said.
The General Conference begins with an opening service Tuesday at 2 p.m. and closes on May 3. The first week is full of committee meetings, with 17 legislative committees sorting through more than 1,000 proposals.
One of the proposals came from the North Alabama Conference, sponsored by Erickson. It recommends that the denomination remove language against homosexuality.
“The effort is to let go of some words that are offensive and put people in a box,” Clem said. “I feel like it’s better for us to remove language that separates people or that confines people to a category.”
Clem serves on the committee on financial administration, which will handle budget-cutting measures in the wake of the large exodus from the denomination.
“There will be a reduction of the budget for the general church, but also it will come down in a smaller percentage that will be asked of the members when it comes down to the local church,” Clem said.
“Overall, a big reduction, but also a little more sensitivity to the local church’s fragility after Covid, after losing members,” Clem said. “There will not be as much asked of each member to give to the General apportionments. That’s a good thing too.”
This will be the first General Conference since 2019, a special called meeting to discuss human sexuality. The 2020 meeting was postponed by Covid-19. The United Methodists traditionally meet every four years to do business.
“There’s always been controversy and especially on the homosexuality issue,” Clem said.
“Within the body, there will be harmony because these are people who have made intentional choices to stay United Methodist for reasons of really believing in who we are, our mission, our purpose, and wanting to be a part of it. There’s a lot of energy toward Let’s come together, let’s be together, let’s move forward.”
The North Alabama Conference has four clergy delegates, four lay delegates, and four reserve delegates. The Alabama-West Florida Conference has the same.
“We’re here because we want to be here; we’re not going to keep fighting,” Clem said.
“The ones who wanted to leave, who felt so strongly, especially about human sexuality issues, they’ve gone. We’re going to move forward. There’s just a real rallying of those who want to help the church move forward with its mission and stop getting bogged down in some of these controversial matters and just move forward. There will be dissent. I just think there will be a much more positive vibe.”
See also: United Methodists urge repeal of ban on same-sex marriage, openly gay clergy
Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday set an execution date for death row inmate Jeremy Williams, who was convicted in the 2021 kidnapping, rape and murder of 5-year-old Kamarie Holland in Phenix City.
Williams is scheduled to be executed by the state’s three-drug lethal injection during a 30-hour window beginning at 12 a.m. August 13 and ending at 6 a.m. August 14. The execution date comes after the Alabama Supreme Court granted a request from Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office on June 16, authorizing the state to carry out the sentence.
In a letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Lovelace, Ivey said the Supreme Court’s June 16 order serves as the official death warrant for Williams.
“By law, I am required to specify the time frame for carrying out the sentence of death,” Ivey said. “Accordingly, I hereby order that Jeremy Lee Williams’s sentence of death be carried out within a time frame beginning on August 13, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. and ending on August 14, 2026, at 6:00 a.m.”
Ivey noted that she retains the authority to commute the sentence before the execution takes place.
Williams, 34, was convicted in April 2024 on four counts of capital murder stemming from Holland’s death. Prosecutors charged him with capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a rape, capital murder during first-degree sodomy and capital murder of a child younger than 14.
Authorities said Holland disappeared from her family’s home in Phenix City on December 13, 2021. Her body was discovered two days later inside an abandoned house less than a mile away. An autopsy determined that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
In addition to the death sentence, Williams received several other prison terms. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking and for knowingly producing recordings depicting the sexual abuse of a child. He also received another life sentence for a separate sexual abuse conviction, along with a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and a 10-year sentence for abuse of a corpse.
Unlike most death row inmates, Williams sought to speed up the execution process. During a hearing, he told the court that he accepted responsibility for his actions and wanted the sentence carried out.
In 2025, Williams dismissed his attorneys and informed the court that he wished to waive any remaining appeals and proceed with his execution. Russell County Circuit Court Judge David Johnson determined that Williams was competent to make that decision and allowed him to forgo further legal challenges.
Under Alabama law, capital convictions automatically receive appellate review. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals subsequently affirmed Williams’ conviction and death sentence in March.
After that review concluded, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court in May to authorize an execution date. The court granted the request earlier this week, clearing the way for Ivey to schedule the execution.
If carried out as scheduled, Williams’ execution would occur nearly five years after Holland’s death and a little more than two years after he was sentenced to death.
Williams’ execution would be Alabama’s first by lethal injection since April 2025. The state’s three most recent executions were carried out using nitrogen hypoxia, which Alabama began using in 2024.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – You don’t find too many camps where you learn how to slap someone. But this summer, you will in Montgomery. It’s one of many kids camps put on by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
“We have our Camp Shakespeare Junior which is our half day for the littles, kindergarten through 3rd grade,” said Cameron Williams, the ASF director of education. “We have Big Kid Shakespeare camp and everyone is learning all about ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.”
They learn about on stage combat, different acting techniques, and also how to be creative and think on their feet.
“I think theater skills are life skills. So, what makes this camp special is we’re doing more than just boosting literacy and doing theater things. We’re doing life skills, learning what it means to be team players, about discipline, and working with people who may have different personalities than you.”
Different kids have different talents. And even if your child isn’t up for a lead role in the next play, this place can leave a lasting impact.
“If you’re looking for a place where your kid can come out of their shell, to learn how to speak in front of a group, and develop some confidence, this is the place to be.”
It’s a place that’s a real treasure in Montgomery, and its mining some young gems, who one day, could be on the big stage themselves. There are still more ASF camps going on this summer for pre-teens and even adults.
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Huntsville-based defense contractor LOGZONE Inc. has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it failed to comply with cybersecurity requirements in contracts with the U.S. Department of the Navy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act alleging that LOGZONE knowingly submitted claims for payment while not meeting certain cybersecurity standards required under two Navy contracts.
Federal officials alleged that between May 2021 and March 2025, LOGZONE did not implement specific cybersecurity controls outlined in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-171. The standards are designed to protect sensitive defense information handled by government contractors.
According to the Justice Department, the deficiencies were identified during an assessment conducted by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The evaluation resulted in LOGZONE receiving a score of -170 on a scale ranging from -203 to 110, indicating significant gaps in compliance with required security controls.
The government alleged that the missing cybersecurity measures could have increased the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information or the exploitation of company systems.
The settlement does not include a determination of liability. As part of the agreement, LOGZONE will pay $507,144 to resolve the allegations.
Federal officials said the enforcement action reflects ongoing efforts to ensure government contractors comply with cybersecurity obligations tied to federal contracts, particularly those involving sensitive defense information.
The investigation and settlement involved the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the Department of the Navy, the Defense Contract Management Agency, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
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Additional details regarding corrective actions taken by the company were not immediately available.
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