Alabama

United Methodists close 20 churches in Alabama: where are they?

Published

6 months ago

May 31, 2025

United Methodists close 20 churches in Alabama: where are they?

United Methodists on Friday voted to close 20 churches in North Alabama, including a church founded in Hoover in 1993 with a 15-acre campus next to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Discovery United Methodist Church, with a 350-seat sanctuary, had grown to 600 members by 2003. The church held its closing service on Easter Sunday, April 20, after years of declining attendance.

The conference has a plan to turn the Discovery campus over to Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood to possibly reopen next year as a third location of Trinity, which has its main campus on Oxmoor Road and another in West Homewood.

“We want to be part of planning something new, but we want it to be about a redemption story,” said the Rev. Brian Erickson, senior pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church. “A lot of conferences would have just taken that property, sold it and put the money in the bank. I’m so grateful to the conference they want to invest in the kingdom instead. They’re gifting us the property.”

Trinity, which is celebrating its centennial next year, plans to re-launch the campus as the Trinity campus in Hoover by August 2026, Erickson said.

“We’re trying not to get caught in a narrative that we can’t move forward, in places in which there are opportunities for United Methodist presence to be,” said Bishop Jonathan Holston, who oversees all United Methodist churches in Alabama. “That’s what we’re trying to do, is find those places where God has called us to go.”

More than half of all United Methodist churches in Alabama disaffiliated over the past several years, leaving the denomination in a schism. Most negotiated to buy their property and take it with them, although some left empty churches behind. Money paid to the conference by departing churches went into a reserve fund, which the conference is drawing on to make it through current budget deficits.

“We’re still processing all of that, to see where we are,” Bishop Holston said.

Closing declining churches is sometimes necessary, he said.

“It’s always a solemn moment when we think about the mission and ministry of those congregations we are closing,” Bishop Holston said. “They were part of our community.”

The other United Methodist churches announced as closing include:

Jubilee Church in Alexander City

Oak Grove Church in Childersburg

Rehobeth Church in Vincent

Trinity Church at 400 East St. in Talladega

Christ Central Church in Rainbow City

Langston Church near Lake Guntersville in Jackson County

Mt. Oak Church in Marshall County

Tucker’s Chapel in Boaz

Courtland Church in Lawrence County

Hollywood Church in Jackson County

Isom’s Chapel in Athens

Moulton First Church in Lawrence County

The Table, which started in 2015 as a house church in Huntsville

Cahaba Church at 3580 Cahaba Valley Road in Jefferson County

Cottondale Church in Tuscaloosa County

Restoration Mission, 631 3rd St. West in Birmingham

Walker Chapel on Walker Chapel Road in Fultondale

Wesley Chapel in Ralph in Tuscaloosa County

Woodstock Church in Bibb County

Erickson noted that Trinity was once a failed church in Birmingham’s Lakeview neighborhood, before it relocated to Homewood in 1926. The 3,600-member Trinity Church is now one of the largest United Methodist congregations in North Alabama with several thousand members.

“We were a failed church,” Erickson said. “The conference took the proceeds from that building in 1926 that they sold to make the fire station that became Bogue’s and is now Taj India. They set aside that money for a new church in 1926 in Homewood.”

Discovery’s failure was surprising, after a promising start that coincided with Michael Jordan playing baseball for the Birmingham Barons at the Hoover Met in 1994 at the hub of the Trace Crossings subdivision that has more than 1,200 houses.

“It’s really baffling,” Erickson said. “Every church has a life cycle. The lives that were shaped and changed and made better by Discovery, those continue. That legacy will never go away.”

Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover opened in 1993 in the Trace Crossings subdivision. The North Alabama Conference voted to close it on May 30, 2025, after its final service was held on Easter Sunday. (Photo by Greg Garrison/AL.com)ggarrison@al.com

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Alabama

Jacob Crews scores 20 for Missouri in 85-77 win over Alabama State

Published

44 minutes ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Jacob Crews scores 20 for Missouri in 85-77 win over Alabama State

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jacob Crews scored 20, and Anthony Robinson II added 19 in Missouri’s 85-77 win over Alabama State on Thursday night.

Crews shot 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point arc. Mark Mitchell added 15 points for Missouri (9-2), and Sebastian Mack added 10.

The Tigers had a 15-0 run in the first half, heading into the locker room up 52-39. Alabama State was held scoreless over a 4:19 drought in the middle of the second half to open a 9-0 run for the Tigers. The Hornets (3-8) responded with their own 10-0 run to bring the game within eight, 74-62. The Tigers regained control, though, to keep their eight-point lead the rest of the game, handing Alabama State their fourth loss in a row.

The Tigers shot 65% (33 of 51). Both teams shot 50% from the free-throw line.

Alabama State outscored Missouri in the final period, 38-33. Asjon Anderscon scored 23 for the Hornets, leading all players in scoring.

Up next

Missouri hosts Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14.

Alabama State travels to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Dec. 17.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Alabama

Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show

Published

13 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show

Let’s crank up a Thursday edition of “The Joe Gaither Show on BamaCentral” with Mason Woods and Katie Windham as we start getting ready for next week’s College Football Playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma. Windham detailed how the Crimson Tide can improve over the next few weeks, we discuss the team’s health and look back at our last road trip to Norman. The show then discusses the Heisman Trophy finalists before addressing a Kalen DeBoer coaching rumor.

The program opens by power ranking the holidays before discussing Windham’s three areas the Crimson Tide can improve over the next week. Our trio picks the easiest area the team can improve and how Alabama must perform in Norman. Windham details our last trip to Oklahoma as we go down memory lane to the Sooners’ 24-3 victory last season.

The show continues on by getting Windham’s thoughts on Alabama’a College Football Playoff selection and if the Crimson Tide actually deserved its place in the field. She brings up a unique aspect of Alabama’s blowout loss in the SEC Championship and how it played into the program’s inclusion in the College Football Playoffs.

We move from next week’s game into a small discussion on Notre Dame’s reaction of being left out of the field and how it relates to Alabama’s future home-and-home dates with the Fighting Irish. Will the two esteemed programs still face off in a few years?

The show heads into the only college football action of the weekend by highlighting the strong Heisman Trophy finalist field. Who brings home the bronze statue?

Lastly, we spend the final bit of the show talking about Michigan firing Sherrone Moore and the reports of the Wolverines considering persuing Kalen DeBeor for their next head coach. Will DeBoer leave Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor?

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Call (205) 462-7340 Extension 800 to leave your thoughts in a voicemail, and you’ll be featured on the show. You can also join us live in the comment sections Monday through Friday at 8:15 a.m. CT.

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Alabama

New Alabama law raises penalties for porch piracy

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

New Alabama law raises penalties for porch piracy

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – As holiday deliveries ramp up, a new Alabama law aims to deter package theft by raising penalties for so-called “porch piracy.” The law, which went into effect on October 1, 2025, makes repeated package theft a felony and can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years in the most serious cases.

What changed

Previously, many package thefts in Alabama were charged as misdemeanor theft because the value of individual stolen packages often fell below felony thresholds. Under the new law however, lawmakers established penalties that focus on the number of homes targeted rather than the dollar value of items stolen:

Stealing from 1 to 9 homes: most serious misdemeanor
Stealing from 10 to 29 homes: felony
Stealing from 30 or more homes: can result in up to 10 years in prison

The law also increases penalties if stolen packages are used to commit identity theft or fraud. In addition, anyone who knowingly receives packages stolen by a porch pirate can be charged under the new rules.

Lawmakers weigh in

Senator April Weaver, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the change was meant to protect Alabama families during the holidays.

“It was really important to protect the people not only in my district but throughout the state of Alabama and to make sure their hard-earned money is going to their children’s Christmas,” she said.

On camera, Senator Weaver added with holiday humor, “It means the Grinch may have stolen Christmas in Whoville, but if he does it in Alabama, he’ll have plenty of time in state prison for his heart to grow three sizes.”

What police recommend if your package is stolen

If you discover a stolen package, law enforcement recommends:

Report the theft to police immediately.
Preserve any doorbell or surveillance footage that may show the theft.
Contact the delivery company right away to report the missing item.
Consider requiring a signature on delivery to reduce the risk of theft.

The law went into effect on October 1, 2025; this December marks the first holiday season it is in effect. Alabama is now one of more than a dozen states that have passed laws specifically targeting package theft. Supporters say the law sends a stronger message that porch piracy will no longer be treated as a minor offense.

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