Category: Social Justice

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Doing Great Harm to their Souls

Rob Price, the Episcopal Bishop of Dallas, Texas, issued the following statement about ICE well before yesterday’s shooting:

“I urge any who are involved in the administration of the current immigration enforcement regime at any level to seek the counsel of their clergy, given my urgent pastoral concern for the moral and spiritual injury that their participation is causing them.”

I have tried to be as careful and open-minded as possible, but, watching video after video, most recently the video of the shooting death of Renee Nicolle Good, I have come to the conclusion that ICE officers are doing great harm to their souls. I pray that the Holy Spirit will transform their hearts and reform this country.

For those of you who see this matter differently: I write this not because I believe my doing so will alter ongoing events, but because I do not want ongoing events to alter me. I feel that to say nothing would do harm to my own soul.

Source: https://edod.org/resources/articles/prayers-for-diocesan-parishioners-held-in-immigration-detention/

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Calling Out the Evil of Ending USAID

For my own sake, I need to say clearly and directly, that what was done to USAID was evil. This is the backdrop against which I’m preparing my sermon on Jesus’ command that we love our enemies.

Link: “‘We Are Seeing Complete Destruction’: The Damage Done by the U.S.A.I.D. Freeze”

A clarification: I’m not preaching about what was done to USAID, but I am angry about it, and it was in the context of that anger that I found myself writing a sermon on the necessity of loving our enemies. 

A disclaimer: As I’ve shared previously, my brother’s job was funded by USAID. I don’t think what was done to USAID was evil because of my family connection, but I am more aware of it for that reason

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Letter to Our Migrant Siblings

The following has been submitted to the Manhattan Mercury:

“To our migrant siblings in Christ,

We understand these are uncertain times for many. With that in mind, our Christian communities wish to first and foremost express to you our prayerful support and solidarity. Please be assured that you are not forgotten and that we stand with you. You and your families are a cherished gift to the world. We give thanks for you. No matter what the future holds, we hereby pledge that we will continue to accompany and serve you with every possible resource. We will continue to advocate for your just treatment and dignity within the framework of the law. Your worthiness as a treasured child of God is not dependent on your legal status in this or any other country. You are a beloved child of God, made in God’s Divine Image, and redeemed by Jesus Christ on Calvary.

May God bless you and grant you peace.

Rev. Frank Coady
St. Thomas More Catholic Church

Rev. John Collins
College Ave. United Methodist Church

Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
First Congregational United Church of Christ

Rev. Margaret McGhee
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Amanor-Boadu
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Josh Brewer
Habitat for Humanity of the Northern Flint Hills

Rev. Melissa Atchison
Manhattan Mennonite Church

Rev. Jason E. Pittman
First Presbyterian Church

Pastor Austin English
Peace Lutheran Church

Pres. Glade Topham
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Rev. Kelly Pittman
First Presbyterian Church

Rev. James Hawley
Trinity Presbyterian Church

Rev. Isabel Call
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship”

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A Message from Bishop David Wilson

Link: vimeo.com/942141531

He also released the following letter:

On the same day I preached about considering how decisions will impact people as many as seven generations later, our General Conference delegates provided for new possibilities for The United Methodist Church when they chose to remove language that restricted openly LGBTQ+ clergy from serving as pastors.

The delegates here in Charlotte, North Carolina, also voted to eliminate penalties for clergy or churches who hold — or refrain from — holding same-gender weddings. And it is the spirit of that latter piece of legislation that I want to share with clergy and churches today.

The people joining together here from around the world to do the work of the church have been removing various punitive pieces of the Book of Discipline added during the 2019 special session of General Conference, as well as language inserted into the Discipline as long as 52 years ago.

These votes offer us a tremendous opportunity as the church to live up to our standards for social justice. I, for one, am excited about the possibilities for ministry that we can do together as we focus on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

I believe we will be more inclusive because we no longer will be marginalizing a group of people.

We will be much fairer because we will no longer disqualify people for ministry based on a single factor, but instead we will fully consider a person’s gifts and graces for ministry.

We will exhibit love for all persons, as Jesus continues to direct us to do.

And, finally, we will have freedom to fully enter our diverse mission fields across the Great Plains and beyond.

It’s important to note that the work here does not shift the church in general or any local congregation into a position of promoting any group or stance. Instead, it moves the denomination to a place of neutrality. As I will address further in the weeks and months ahead, no church will have to do anything that makes it uncomfortable regarding aspects of human sexuality. Nor will any pastor be forced to do anything that goes against that person’s conscience.

The Cabinet and I strive in every appointment to make the best match for each pastor and congregation. To allay any concerns, I want to be clear. The Cabinet and I would not send an openly gay pastor to a church that would not be accepting because doing so would not be healthy for the local church nor for the pastor.

Also, local churches have the authority to determine wedding policies. That does not change with any of the decisions made at General Conference.

It is my prayer that after so many years of acrimony, we will build and rebuild relationships, that we will make note of the numerous parts of our faith that unite us, and that together we will be more effective witnesses for Jesus Christ as we journey toward a brighter, fully inclusive, vibrant future for generations to come in The United Methodist Church. Bishop David Wilson Great Plains Conference.

Bishop David Wilson
Great Plains Conference

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Thoughts on MLK Day

Today, the church office is closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I must confess that there was a time, growing up, when I didn’t understand why we observed MLK Day. I didn’t understand the reasoning behind a federal holiday for a man who had not been president. Over time, as I’ve learned more about United States history and the role played by the civil rights movement, I’ve come to believe that MLK’s place in history overshadows that of many presidents. As a Christian, I also appreciate that MLK’s leadership of the Civil Rights movement was a profoundly Christian undertaking that put the teachings of Jesus into effect in the face of stiff, unrelenting, unethical, and often violent and inhumane opposition. King’s Letter From a Birmingham Jail is an excellent place to start to better understand why I consider the civil rights movement a profoundly Christian endeavor.

You can read the letter at The Atlantic: Link

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The Moral Truth of Medicaid Expansion

I found this article from the Manhattan Mercury late, but I wanted to share it with you all in case you missed it, too. The moral argument for Kansas to accept the Medicaid expansion is compelling, not only on the level of individuals in need of health care but also on the level of providing health care to entire communities. Without that funding, more hospitals will financially fail and close, leaving poor and rural communities underserved. We’re already paying the taxes, so why not accept the revenue to better care for the least of these?

Link

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Upcoming LGBTQ+ Inclusion Meeting

On Tuesday, November 14, at 5:30 p.m. Rev. Ashley Prescott Barlow-Thompson will speak on becoming an affirming United Methodist church. Ashley is an ordained Deacon serving at Calvary UMC in Wichita, Kansas. All are welcome! Childcare will be provided. If you have any questions, you can contact either Amy Westfahl (amy.westfahl@gmail.com) or Dave Procter (dprocter@ksu.edu).

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Toward A More Welcoming Church

College Avenue UMC is working toward being a congregation that more fully welcomes LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. At its May 21, 2023, meeting the church council approved these actions:

1. The establishment of an LGBTQ+ Inclusion working group tasked with recommending actions aligned with our guiding values and inclusion statement to ensure College Avenue UMC is a welcoming and affirming place for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. 

2. An LGBTQ+ inclusion book study series. (The first discussion will be on God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines on July 6, 2023.) 

3. Adding pronouns to name tags for those who want them. (Contact the church office at caumc.info@gmail.com or 785-539-4191 to have your pronouns added to your name tag.)

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UMs Oppose Separation of Immigrant Families

Jeff Sessions is United Methodist, but that’s not stopping the council of bishops, annual conferences and agencies of the general church from urging him to stop the practice of separating immigrant children (apparently including very young children still nursing) from their families. I’ve been avoiding public comment on this topic, but I can do so no longer. This is wrong, may God be with the parents and their children who have been forcibly separated to give them comfort and consolation and a future with hope, may God be at work in our country that this injustice might be brought to an end.

Link: http://bit.ly/2y7ZPwV

Note: If you’re extremely upset or extremely pleased that Jeff Sessions is United Methodist, please remember that Elizabeth Warren is as well. It’s like the fact that both George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton are United Methodist. We are a broad denomination. I’m not trying to take one side or another, I’m not trying to side with Democrats or Republicans, I’m trying to side with God and those God sides with.

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Colin Kaepernick and Our National Anthem

Looking at Colin Kaepernick’s actions from a historical perspective, putting myself in his place I can see his point. I would have a hard time standing for the National Anthem if it included an anti-Irish-American verse and was written by a member of the (anti-Irish-American) Know Nothing Party. Our God is a God of justice who sees only our common humanity and the Imago Dei within each and every one of us.

Link: http://cnn.it/2caQK7E

Note: the article is titled “Slavery and the National Anthem: The Surprising History Behind Colin Kaepernick’s Protest.” My guess is that it’s not surprising to our African-American brothers and sisters.