Alabama
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
Alabama
Alabama Shakes Set Spring 2026 Tour Dates
Alabama Shakes have lined up a string of North American tour dates for 2026. Brittany Howard and the band’s spring run includes multiple stops in Florida and a concluding two-night stint at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. Check out the new dates, plus their previously announced festival shows, European itinerary, and Zach Bryan support dates, below.
Support for the headline shows comes from Joy Oladokun, Mon Rovîa, Lamont Landers, and JJ Grey & Mofro. For every ticket sold, $1 will go towards nonprofits around the United States via the Alabama Shakes Fund, a press release notes. There is, as yet, no word on a follow-up to the band’s 2015 album, Sound & Color, but they did sign to Island this year and release their first single since that record.
Alabama Shakes:
04-16 Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront ~
04-17 Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena ~
04-18 Charleston, SC – High Water Fest
04-22 Memphis, TN – Grind City Amphitheater +
04-24 Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park +
04-25 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater +
04-26 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre %
04-28 Tallahassee, FL – Adderley Amphitheater %
04-29 Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Amphitheater %
04-30 Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound %
05-02 New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
05-24 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
05-25 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
06-13 Manchester, Tennessee – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
07-01 Leeds, England – Millennium Square
07-02 Wasing, England – On the Mount at Wasing
07-03 London, England – Alexandra Palace *
07-05 Ghent, Belgium – Gent Jazz Festival
07-07 Lucca, Italy – Summer Festival
07-09 Lisbon, Portugal – NOS Alive Festival
07-10 Bilbao, Spain – BBK Live
07-11 Madrid, Spain – Noches del Botanico
07-25 Eugene, OR – Autzen Stadium ^
09-19 Dover, DE – The Woodlands ^
~ with Joy Oladokun
+ with Mon Rovîa
% with Lamont Landers
# with JJ Grey & Mofro
* with Tyler Ballgame
^ supporting Zach Bryan
Alabama
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
Alabama
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?
We’re so appreciative of our sponsors who make the show possible. Check out Derek Daniel State Farm in Alabama for your insurance needs. We’re also proud to partner with Purple Turtle Roofing on the program. From your first call to the final nail, our mission is to make sure you feel confident, cared for, and covered, literally.
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.
The show can be seen on the BamaCentral YouTube channel. Keep up with each show on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Shows can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.
-
Alaska6 days agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Ohio1 week ago
Who do the Ohio State Buckeyes hire as the next offensive coordinator?
-
Texas6 days agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Washington3 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa5 days agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL6 days agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Cleveland, OH5 days agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
World5 days ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans