WMJM Justice Seeker - February, 2020
February 2020 Western Methodist Justice Movement Newsletter
WMJM's Statement on Plans and Legislation at 2020 GC
With various legislation and response coming out around General Conference the leadership team during our in person retreat drafted the following values statement (in bold) and expanded statement in how we are approaching the various plans and legislation. We welcome your reflections on this:
As WMJM, we support strong reionalization and true global equity. The UMC’s historic structure reflects the evils of colonialism. The UMC needs to engage with the breadth and depth of people in Central Conferences. God works through relationships to move the church toward justice and equity. As the UMC moves toward structural solutions that allow for regional autonomy, we must also fight to ensure that nobody is left in a position where they are not allowed to be a full part of the church in the meantime.
We value justice and equity and we also value relationships. We realize that often these values are in conflict. By diminishing harm in one place, we risk continuing and creating harm in another. We hold the tension of these conflicting needs before us as we work to move the church toward a place of true global equity. Waiting for change is also not an option. It is costing many lives both in and out of the church. We believe that our best hope for LGBTQIA+ people around the world is to remain connected through the global church, continuing to build relationships with our siblings in the Central Conferences. Strong regionalization will allow the church to continue moving forward in all regions of the world even though context will cause different rates of progress. True global equity means that we respect, value, and push to empower the work of the church in every setting throughout the world. We will continue to work for inclusion in all of the global church as equal partners growing together into a fuller understanding of the gospel. We do not see regionalization as an excuse for discrimination. Strong regionalization will eliminate many of the evils of colonialism and allow for full inclusion to look different in different settings around the world. We acknowledge that we live in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural world and regional conferences offer all members of the church the best option at this point for staying in relationship with one another and working together for positive and just change.
Filipino United Methodist Defend Lumad Sanctuary
By Gladys P. Mangiduyos | Feb. 3, 2020 | UM News
United Methodists were among those who opposed a resolution to close down Haran Mission Center in Davao City, a sanctuary to around 500 displaced Lumads in Mindanao.
Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib moved for the immediate closure of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines center due to “violations of indigenous people's rights” committed inside the facility, according to the resolution issued by the Davao Regional Peace and Order Council Jan. 15.
Haran Mission Center is a temporary shelter for displaced Lumads from Davao del Norte, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon and Cotabato who fled military harassment in their villages. Around 170 families — an estimated 500 individuals, mostly children — are housed at the center.
The Lumads are the largest indigenous group in the Philippines. The word “Lumad” is a Visayan term that means “born of the earth.”
Ten days after the closure order, the paramilitary group Alamara, which included some Lumad members, raided the compound, according to local news reports. That forced evacuees to take shelter in the main compound.
United Methodist Bishop Rodolfo A. Juan, Davao Area, condemned the closure and raid (of UCCP Haran House-Lumad Sanctuary)
“It is unfortunate that the Lumad ministry at Haran is halted due to the forcible entry of armed men. These are indeed trying moments in the history of our church in our pursuit for peace among the indigenous people in Mindanao.
“I condemn in strictest terms this unlawful entry into the Lumad sanctuary and I call on the military and police to ensure safety in the whole facility. I join the (National Council of Churches in the Philippines) family in praying for the immediate restoration of peace and order in Haran and its ministry to the Lumads.
Members of the WMJM Leadership team also took time to show their solidarity during their January Leadership team meeting with the Lumad and our Ecumenical Siblings form the UCCP Haran House
WJ First Elected Delegates agree to legislative goals for General Conference 2020
We, the First Elected Delegates to General Conference 2020 from the Annual Conferences making up the Western Jurisdiction, appreciate the earnest collaborative work on the Protocol of Grace and Reconciliation through Separation. We are hopeful that it is a connectional path to fulfilling God’s call to mission and ministry. Although we are disappointed with the proposed need to pay for those who wish to leave the denomination, we understand the need for compromise. We believe the Protocol will offer a promising option for maintaining the connection.
At General Conference 2020, we see the Protocol working in tandem with regionalization of the denomination as in the forthcoming Christmas Covenant. Together, these two proposals align our highly valued global connectionalism while allowing each region to contextualize its work and be best equipped to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world.
While we appreciate the Protocol’s moratorium on complaints related to LGBTQ relationships, we support any avenue to remove the harmful language in our Book of Discipline. We are eager to know how quickly this can happen. In tandem with regionalization, these actions allow us to affirm the sacred worth of all people in all aspects of our Church.
We support legislation calling for the creation of a Commission on the 21st Century Church. A conversation engaging our global Church in dreaming about our future together, and designing a structure for shared mission and ministry, is long overdue.
We recognize that this is a critical time in the life of the denomination. We are both eager and willing to connect and work with partners across our global Church, including those who see things differently than us, to find a gracious path forward.
Alaska: Jim Doepken, Jo Anne Hayden
California-Nevada: Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan, Micheal Pope
California-Pacific: Cedrick Bridgeforth, Monalisa Tuitahi
Desert Southwest: Dan Hurlbert, Paul Gómez
Oregon-Idaho: Wendy Woodworth, Jan Nelson
Rocky Mountain: Jasper Peters, Harvey Tukutau
Pacific Northwest: Elizabeth Schindler, Skylar Bihl
Yellowstone: Dawn Maurer-Skerritt, Don McCammon
>From the Western Jurisdiction Website
Opening Hearts, Minds, and Doors Wider
By: Deaconess Sharon McCart, UMC DisAbility Committee
In the proposed revision to the Social Principles, we read that “We lament that the church has often stigmatized and discriminated against people with disabilities by imposing labels with negative connotations, by failing to make space in church life for the full range of God’s people, and by interpreting words such as “blind,” “lame,” and “deaf” in pejorative ways. Because of this, people with disabilities are frequently dismissed or undervalued, both in the church and in civil society.”
The stigma and discrimination against people with disabilities is known as ableism. Just as with racism, sexism, and heterosexism, people with disabilities are presumed to be less than people without disabilities. Everything is set up for “normal” people and people with disabilities are forced to struggle to get into sanctuaries, classrooms, and pulpits, and to truly belong to a congregation.
Does Jesus love people with disabilities? Of course. Read the Gospels and find Jesus showing that love. Do people with disabilities need to learn about God and experience God’s love through a faith community? Of course. Every person is created by God and needs to know their loving creator. Every person needs to love God with all that they are and to love neighbor as one’s self. Does the Holy Spirit give people with disabilities gifts that the body of Christ (the Church) needs? Of course. Scripture tells us that all people are given gifts to be used for the good of all.
Does God call people with disabilities to serve others, even as clergy? Of course. God does not discriminate based on outward appearance but instead sees the heart!
And yet people with disabilities are often merely tolerated in churches. They are not allowed to be full participants--- barred from fellowship by inhospitable attitudes, barred from learning and from teaching by inaccessible classrooms, barred from leadership by incorrect assumptions, barred from pulpits by steps.
Sometimes people with disabilities are barred from worship because they unsilence the silent prayers of others, without any understanding that their noises might be the way that they pray. Other “unusual” behaviors may also attract glares. Sometimes this leads to a request not to return. I once met a man who had been disinvited this way because his son has autism. The entire family had been asked not to return by thirteen churches. When I asked how many churches were in his community, he told me “Thirteen.”
Do we dare, in the sight of God, bar anyone from our congregations? If so, do we dare com***-*plain that we are losing members?
Accessibility is hospitality, and hospitality is an important Biblical value, with an emphasis on welcoming the stranger. How can we refuse to widen our doors, ramp our entrances, provide access to our chancels and our restrooms, and be in full communion and fellowship with everyone, including those with limitations (aka disabilities)? We must open our hearts, minds, and doors wider so that we are fully accessible to everyone!
We are a multi-cultural and inclusive community of United Methodists from across the western United States. As a network of activists, we work together on social principles for advancing justice in our church and the world.
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