| ...The
United Methodist Church, America's second largest Protestant
denomination, reports a net loss of 71,000 members in the United
States last year, bringing the total under 8.2 million. That
followed a decline of 69,000 in 2003. The United Methodists have
suffered annual declines for decades. The latest report shows
some membership growth in the South, with the largest drops
mostly in the Midwest and Northeast. [AP] |