This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

HARARE, ZIMBABWE — A discordant backdrop of pedestrians, buses and street vendors in downtown Harare encircled Innercity Circuit Harare United Methodist Church at 8 a.m. But inside the church premises during an Oct. 26 service, activity was fixated on worship without ceasing.

The style of worship at Innercity Circuit is typical for a United Methodist congregation in Zimbabwe, though it would be out of place for most Methodist churches in the U.S. That cultural difference is at the heart of a potentially historic restructuring that the UMC worldwide has been voting on this year, the final results of which are expected as early as Nov. 5.

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