Church Council Affirms Antiracist Statement for FUMC:
Early in the summer of 2020, the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church, in response to the cries throughout our land for racial justice, launched a “multilevel effort to initiate a sustained and coordinated effort to dismantle racism and promote collective action to work toward racial justice.” They affirmed that racism is a sin and committed the church to challenging unjust systems of power and access. They also promised that the church “will work for equal and equitable opportunities in employment and promotion, education and training; in voting, access to public accommodations, and housing; to credit, loans, venture capital, and insurance; to positions of leadership and power in all elements of our life together; and to full participation in the Church and society.” Every member of The U.M.C. is challenged to pray, connect, show up, and act.
Pray “that God will show us what we refuse to see and what we've been unwilling to do."
Connect “with one another to talk about racism and about change.”
Show up and “put ourselves on the line to reclaim the soul of our nation and our church.”
Act by “responding with commitment and courage.”
As a first step in response to this call, our Ministry Council has written, and our Church Council has enthusiastically passed, an Antiracist Statement for First United Methodist Church (shared below). The Ministry Council began meeting several months ago and reviewed the Juneteenth proclamation of the Bishops, the service of Lament, Repentance, Communion, and Commitment, and the Town Hall on Dismantling Racism – Pressing on to Freedom. In addition, they reviewed previous statements of the Commission on Race and Religion and pertinent information regarding race and religion in The United Methodist Book of Discipline. Several contemporaneous books concerning racism were also reviewed. Most of the information included in our Antiracism Statement is drawn directly from United Methodist sources. The document was reviewed and edited by the Church Council at two different meetings before being passed. I hope that you will read this statement carefully, discuss it among your friends and small groups, and pray that each of us as United Methodists will support its content and purpose.
Yours in Christ,
William Clarke, Lay Leader
First United Methodist Church Antiracism Statement
We, the community of faith at First United Methodist Church, recognize that it is our
responsibility to live as Jesus commanded us: to love one another and stand up for those
who are oppressed in any way. As United Methodists, we have each vowed to resist evil,
injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.
We recognize racism as a sin, but we confess that we have not fulfilled our baptismal
vows, neither recognizing nor acknowledging the injustice of racism around us. We have
neglected to act: in so doing, we confess that we have been complicit in racism, not loved
our neighbor as ourselves, and ignored the cries of the needy.
Because we are convinced that we are all God's children, that we are all the recipients of
equal portions of God’s love and grace, and that we are all of sacred worth, we stand
with our Black, brown, and Indigenous siblings for justice and freedom.
We publicly denounce both implicit and explicit racism and acknowledge that Black,
brown, and Indigenous persons have been victims of injustice and oppression for centuries.
We, as a community of faith, commit ourselves to work for equal and equitable opportunities
in employment and promotion, education, and training; to credit, loans, venture capital,
and insurance; to positions of leadership and power in all elements of our life together;
and to full participation in the Church and society.
In addition, we recognize that statues, flags, and building names, or anything else which
glorifies individuals or groups of individuals who chose to prevent Black, brown,
and Indigenous persons from sharing in the liberty and justice to which this country
aspires have no place in our society and must be removed from public places.
We publicly denounce the worship of those idols of injustice and racism.
Finally, we repent of both our implicit and explicit actions or inactions that
have denied justice and liberty to our Black, brown, and Indigenous siblings.
As leaders of First United Methodist Church, we state that this is our commitment and vision for our
church going forward: that when we have the option in the future to be silent or to speak out or take
action, we will choose action, and decisions will be made in accordance with this statement.
~ August 2020 ~