Charlottesville First United Methodist Church Anti-racism 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.

 

To find resources about how the United Methodist Church is working toward racial justice, visit umc.org/EmbraceLove.