United Methodists must work to repair the pain caused by the erosion of human rights while also rebuilding the denomination after years of painful church exits.
That was Council of Bishops President Tracy S. Malone’s message to about 100 of her fellow bishops from four continents as they began their spring meeting.
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“Black and brown communities, immigrants of every race and ethnicity and countless others are bearing the brunt of this systemic inhumanity,” Malone said. She spoke the same day news broke that three U.S. citizen children, including a 4-year-old with cancer, and their mothers had been deported to Honduras. The 4-year-old was deported without his medication.
“Many are suffering under the attack of cruelty, unjust laws and distorted theology. In times like these, the Church must be more than polite," the bishop said.
Throughout her presidential address, she repeatedly reminded those gathered that United Methodists find themselves in “a kairos moment” — meaning an opportune or decisive time.
In practical terms, this means United Methodists will need to reimagine church ministries while they also stand firm as repairers of the breach.
Both acts, she said, are part of what it means to act as a Christian disciple and make more disciples of Jesus Christ.
“To follow the risen Christ is to see others as God sees them — to see the face of God in others — and to recognize that … discipleship is deeply connected to justice,” she said. “When the church stands in the gap, we are not straying from our calling. We are living into it.”
Her address aimed to set the tone for a week when bishops expect to introduce a new vision for The United Methodist Church. The Council of Bishops is also welcomed eight new African and European episcopal leaders, elected since the council’s previous meeting in November.
Malone, who also leads the Indiana Conference, was speaking to a group still recovering from the pain of church disaffiliations.
At the same time, United Methodists are also dealing with the international impact of the new Trump administration.
Since Trump’s inauguration, United Methodists also have been responding to the administration’s elimination of life-saving foreign aid, mass federal firings and the detention and deportations of immigrants without due process.
The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race and three United Methodist conferences also are participating in an interfaith lawsuit seeking to prevent immigration arrests within houses of worship. A federal judge recently declined a request to put a pause on the possibility of such arrests, but the lawsuit continues.
“This is not the time to whisper when the world needs the church to shout,” Malone said. “This is not the time to shrink back when the world is crying out for justice.
“Our collective worldwide witness as United Methodists at every level of the church, joined with our ecumenical and interfaith partners, we can pave the way for both greater peace and greater justice and greater reconciliation and accountability,” she added.
Like their U.S. colleagues, the new bishops also are dealing with the rise of political violence and authoritarianism around the globe. In some cases, the new bishops also are still dealing with the aftermath of longtime internal church divides.
Malone concluded her address by leading those gathered in reciting the words of a familiar hymn, reminding the bishops that their “hope is built on nothing less/ Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
excerpt from a story by Heather Hahn, assistant news editor for UM News
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