19 MAY 2020 · Bishop Bruce R. Ough who serves as the resident bishop for the Dakotas-Minnesota Area of The United Methodist Church, outlines the state of the church in the Dakotas Conference. He specifically thanks every congregation and church leaders for their efforts as the church never closed. "I could not be more pleased or proud of the manner in which the clergy, lay leaders and our congregations have responded, and continue to respond, to the pandemic," says Ough. He also encourages every congregation to re-invent themselves. "Will your new normal be a new church, or a return to a pre-disruption, pre-pandemic normal?"