News Roundup - May 1, 2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month. Notable this month are the many stories from the continent of Africa.

United Methodist mission organized in Madagascar: Bishop Joaquina Nhanala of Mozambique traveled to Madagascar to officially inaugurate a United Methodist congregation in the capital city of Antananarivo. UMNews covered the occasion with a story and photo essay: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/bishop-makes-historic-visit-to-madagascar and https://express.adobe.com/page/X8DUHKwa4rkkx/

United Methodist mission organized in the Republic of Congo: Bishop Daniel Lunge and other leaders of the Central Congo Episcopal Area traveled to the Republic of Congo (across the river from the Democratic Republic of Congo) to organize United Methodist mission efforts there: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/the-united-methodist-church-moves-across-congo-river

Global Ministries holds series of meetings in Africa: Global Ministries held a series of meetings in Maputo, Mozambique, including an Africa Mission Partners Consultation on April 17-19, a board of directors meeting on April 20-22, and two missionary-related events. Global Ministries and UMNews both covered the events: https://umcmission.org/news-statements/global-ministries-to-hold-series-of-meetings-in-maputo-mozambique-focusing-on-mission/, https://www.umnews.org/en/news/global-ministries-meetings-focus-on-mission-in-africa, and https://umcmission.org/news-statements/a-global-community-of-love-and-good-deeds-is-mission-goal/.

Africa Forum holds inaugural meeting: The United Methodist Africa Forum meet April 21-22 in South Africa to organize the new group and set out a vision for the UMC in Africa: https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-global-nature/united-methodist-africa-forum-sets-priorities-names-leaders/.

United Methodists seek to grow agriculture in Africa: Global Ministries shared positive outcomes around Africa from a series of trainings for African United Methodists at the Songhai Center in Benin: https://umcmission.org/april-2023/songhai-training-ignites-new-drive-in-yambasu-agriculture-initiative-farmers/. The organization also approved additional funding for the Yambasu Agricultural Initiative: https://umcmission.org/april-2023/yai-transforms-lives-and-gives-hope-to-farming-communities-in-africa/. And Bishop Quire of Liberia talked about the hope for agriculture in his country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLsyUda1x2M.

Liberia plans and partnerships for Gbason Town university campus and mission station: The United Methodist University of Liberia announced plans for new academic programs including in agriculture at its Gbason Town campus, the site of the from Gbason Town Mission Station: https://www.westafricanwriters.org/umu-president-dr-yar-donlah-gonway-gono-visits-umu-gbason-town-campus/. The Liberia and Norway Annual Conferences also renewed a partnership with roots in Norwegian missionary service in at the Gbason Town Mission Station: https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-global-nature/liberia-and-norway-united-methodists/.

UMC health boards combat malaria in Africa: World Malaria Day was in April. Health boards of UMC episcopal areas in Africa are dedicated to fighting malaria, working in cooperation with Global Ministries: https://umcmission.org/april-2023/zero-malaria-theme-of-world-malaria-day-is-the-goal-for-umc-health-work/.

Bishop Paul Boafo elected president of the Africa Methodist Council: Bishop Paul Boafo, presiding bishop of the independent Methodist Church of Ghana, has been elected president of the Africa Methodist Council, a regional pan-Methodist body affiliated with the World Methodist Council: https://irishmethodist.org/world-mission-news/new-president-of-the-africa-methodist-council.

Romania decides to stay in the UMC: United Methodists in Romania have decided to remain in the denomination, a reversal from their joint decision with Bulgarian Methodists last year to leave. The UMC churches in Romania will now be linked to those in Hungary: https://www.emk.de/meldung/hoffnungsvolle-signale.

European United Methodists continue to respond to the war in Ukraine: United Methodists in various European countries continue to assist refugees and others impacted by the on-going war in Ukraine. The Central and Southern Europe Central Conference provides an update: https://www.umnews.org/-/media/umc-media/2023/04/26/21/58/united-methodist-church-europe-ukraine-refugees-4-25-2023.

Swiss Methodists host ecumenical conference on online church content: Swiss United Methodists organized and hosted the first-ever Swiss conference for Christian internet content creators. The conference garnered strong ecumenical participation across Protestant and Catholic groups: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/04/12/erstes-schweizer-netzwerktreffen-fuer-digital-content-creators/.

Rev. Izzy Alvaran discusses inclusion from a global perspective: Rev. Izzy Alvaran of the Philippines Central Conference and Reconciling Ministries Network discussed the intersectional nature of justice, the current state of the Philippines UMC, and the promise of regionalization on an episode of the Bar of the Conference podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ttmYLOGcAzp7CzBUMtdlg.

Filipino UMC grows in Canada: The Greater Northwest Episcopal Area profiled a growing congregation of Filipino United Methodists in British Columbia, Canada. The congregation exists in partnership with the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area, the United Church of Canada, and Global Ministries: https://greaternw.org/news/first-umc-canada-grows-through-filipino-leadership-immigrant-community-connections/.

Global Christian Solidarity with the George Floyd Protests

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

Protests over the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, have taken place in cities, suburbs, and small towns across the United States and have spread to cities around the world. Wikipedia lists hundreds of George Floyd protests in cities outside the US. Other sources also list protests in dozens of cities in over 40 countries.

Moreover, the outcry over Floyd's death and the larger issue of racist police violence has not been merely a secular one. Religious bodies and leaders around the world have condemned Floyd's death specifically and racism broadly in the past two weeks.

Racism is global, but the particular combination of systemic racism and police violence that has led to the George Floyd protests is in many ways a distinctively US dysfunction. Why, then, have Christians and others around the world joined this way of protests and proclamations?

The Guardian and the New York Times both have intelligent secular analyses of why these protests have gone global. Together, they identify three reasons why people from around the world have supported these protests. These three reasons can also be seen at work in recent worldwide Christian statements on racial violence:

1. People around the world feel genuine concern about racial injustices in the United States and want to express solidarity with African-Americans.

People around the world recognize the systemic injustices impacting African-Americans and other people of color in the United States and are speaking up against them accordingly, in the same sort of way that the international community has responded to other instances of injustice around the world, from apartheid in South Africa to the oppression of the Rohinga in Myanmar.

One sees this line of thinking at work in, for instance, the Executive Committee of the World Council of Church's Statement on Racial Justice in the USA, which reads in part, "The executive committee expresses its support and Christian solidarity with all US churches seeking and pursuing racial justice, proclaiming peace that is inclusive of all, and rejecting the instrumentalization of the outward forms of Christianity without its substance of compassion, service and self-giving love."

2. The George Floyd protests provide an opportunity for people to denounce racism in their own contexts.

While racism is deeply entwined with American society, the United States by no means has a monopoly on racism. Many of the protests around the world have called attention not just to police killings in the United States but also police killings and other instances of racial injustice in their own countries. In Europe and Africa, protests have linked current racism to past European colonial exploitation of Africa (and other areas of the world).

This sort of self-critique is noticeable in the statement on racism from Rev. Dr. Jonathan Hustler, Secretary of the Conference for the Methodist Church in Britain. Rev. Dr. Hustler wrote, "As Christian people, we are appalled that someone could die in such a fashion and appalled also at the continued injustice which many Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people experience in many parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, and in many institutions, including, shamefully, the Methodist Church in Britain."

In a similar manner, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, United Church of Canada, and Anglican Church in Canada put out a statement which said, "We as church leaders, acknowledge the pain, frustrations and anger of our Black communities, and recognize that systemic anti-Black racism is prevalent in our context in Canada as well; in the streets of our communities, in the justice and policing systems, and in our congregations and parishes."

From another perspective, the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians connected racism in the US with the global racism that includes oppression of people in the two-thirds world, including Africa. In their statement, they wrote, "This deep wound of racism is not only found in the USA; it is a worldwide structure of oppression. Since the days of colonialism when racism served as the instrument of white supremacy, it has remained inbuilt in global economics, politics and knowledge systems. Two-Thirds World countries continue to suffocate under the knee of racism that has relegated them to exploitation and poverty."

3. The protests reflect a complicated set of views about the United States' place in the world.

The rest of the world is aware of the rising levels of divisiveness, nationalism, isolationism, racism, and xenophobia in the United States, much of it connected in recent years to Donald Trump's presidency. Many around the world are opposed to such rhetoric and policies coming from the United States, and these protests present an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with how the United States has behaved as an international actor in recent years.

Yet the protests are not simply about hating the United States. Many of these same protestors deeply believe in the values that the United States has historically professed: equality, democracy, freedom, etc. Many protestors would like to see the United States better uphold these values. If the United States does a good job of upholding these values, that makes it easier for people in other countries to push for these values as well, because of the tremendous cultural power of the United States. It provides a balance to more autocratic regimes such as China and Russia, who are looking to expand their power. A strong United States, if it behaves justly and democratically, is still an asset to many around the world. Thus, these protests are also an attempt to hold the US accountable to its own ideals.

This complicated view of the US is clearly displayed in the All Africa Conference of Churches' statement "Condemning Injustice and Racism in the USA." That statement reads, in part:

"We have always appreciated how the USA attempted to be a champion of justice and human rights globally, always condemning and sanctioning countries and leaderships who violate the rights of their own people and against militarization of law and order. As we follow developments going on in the USA, we are asking, will the USA government recover its moral authority and credibility to dare call out any other country which uses military on the streets to dominate citizens demanding right to be heard, or which sanctions its law and order organs to brutalize its own people using flimsy and queer legislation, to humiliate its people? Where is the soul of America as a country of the free?"

The AACC's questions are open ones, but their statement makes it clear that the answers matter, not just in the United States, but to Christians and others around the world.

Recommended Reading: Central Conference United Methodists on GC2020

Two initiatives by United Methodists in the central conferences to influence the proceedings of General Conference 2020 have recently been announced.

First, two presentations by Rev. Lloyd T. Nyarota on behalf of a new lobbying group, the Forum of Concerned Central Conferences United Methodists, were recently published on United Methodist Insight. This group includes an unnamed list of United Methodists from central conferences across Africa, in the Philippines, and in northern Europe. About half of the members live abroad, either in the United States or Canada. The group has been formed to advocate in advance of General Conference 2020.

The two presentations - one to the central conference bishops and one in the Philippines - lay out the group's basic premises: the proposals heading to GC2020 were written without substantial central conference input; it is time for United Methodists in the central conferences to lead; United Methodists in the central conferences want unity; and the Philippines Plan is the best way to achieve that desired unity.

Two observations are worth making about these presentations: 1. In much of what they are saying, this group is intentionally echoing and affirming the statements by the African and Filipino bishops; thus, these ideas have some currency beyond just this group. 2. Their support of the Philippines plan indicates that while US United Methodists have mainly been focused on the four US-drafted plans, the Philippines plan deserves to be considered as a fifth option, as there are people advocating for it. Indeed, as this blog has previously argued, Filipinos may play a unique role in resolving the current conflict in the church, making their plan and their concerns around unity worthy of study.

Second, a group of leaders from the central conferences has released a "Christmas Covenant" calling for continued unity in the denomination. (See also the associated UMNS story.) The covenant draws on theological principles of all as children of God, ubuntu, and bayanihan. That two of these three principles are drawn from cultures outside of the US is itself significant. Using these principles, the covenant opposed the separation of the church and division of its assets; supports the formation of a US regional conference; and supports legislative equality across regions of the church. Thus, the main goal of the Covenant - continued unity with greater regional autonomy - is similar to the goals laid out in Rev. Nyarota's presentations.

The signers of the Christmas Covenant include General Conference delegates and reserve delegates, district superintendents, seminary leaders, and other leaders from across the central conferences. While the signers of the Christmas Covenant include more people than those mentioned by Rev. Nyarota in his presentation, it is the same group behind both, according to Rev. Hilde Marie Movafagh, a group member and Covenant signer.

General Conference 2019 changed how many think about the church and motivated many to be more proactive in shaping the future of the denomination. US United Methodists would do well to recognize that United Methodists from the central conferences are among those so motivated.

Correction: An earlier version of this article indicated that the Forum of Concerned Central Conferences United Methodists was an overlapping but separate group from the signers of the Christmas Covenant. Thanks to Rev. Hilde Marie Movafagh for setting the record straight.

Migrant Mission and Ecclesial Boundary-Crossing in Canada

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

As I have written in a previous post, "[M]ission inherently destabilizes whatever geographic, administrative, ecclesial structures the church creates for itself. Those structures are predicated on boundaries, and mission is an inherently boundary-crossing endeavor."

UMNS recently wrote about another great example of the destabilizing effects of mission on ecclesial boundaries. In her article "Church helps Zimbabweans keep home in Canada," Vicki Brown tells the story of several congregations of Zimbabwean United Methodists in Canada.

Theoretically there should not be United Methodist congregations in Canada. The UMC and its predecessors have had a very long-standing comity agreement with The United Church of Canada and its predecessors, including the Methodist Church, Canada. According to this understanding, the UMC does not start congregations in Canada, and the United Church of Canada does not start congregations in the United States. They mutually recognize the national border as an ecclesial border too.

Mission, especially mission tied to migration, challenges such long-standing ecclesial boundaries, though. Zimbabweans migrate to Canada. They want to continue their religious practices and identity, a reasonable desire by most standards. They are United Methodist, and while they are happy to work with the United Church of Canada and while the United Church of Canada generously helps support them, the Zimbabweans still see themselves as United Methodist, even while living in Canada.

Thus, an exception is carved out of the long-standing comity agreement. In the words of the article, "The United Methodist Church and The United Church of Canada have an agreement that the only United Methodist churches in Canada will be those serving an ethnic population such as the Zimbabwean migrants." Now there is an asterisk to the policy of not starting churches on the other side of the border.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, and in this instance, it seems like the Zimbabwean migrants, the United Church in Canada, and the UMC have all worked together well to ensure that the migrants' spiritual needs are met.

Yet it is remarkable just how common this sort of ecclesial boundary-blurring by mission and migration working in tandem is. A line buried near the bottom of the article states, "In addition to Canada, Bishop Nhiwatiwa has appointed pastors to lead Zimbabwean congregations in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, said the Rev. Alan Gurupira, assistant to the bishop." That's five countries where mission and migration have blurred the boundaries between the UMC and its sister denominations.

And that's just looking at Zimbabwean migrants. When we include migrants from the Philippines, Nigeria, the DRC, and other countries, we discover a lot of United Methodist congregations in countries where the UMC theoretically doesn't exist. This pattern stems in large part from the UMC seeing itself as a transnational denomination. Unlike the United Church of Canada, which only exists in Canada, the UMC exists in multiple countries across the world. Yet while the UMC sets formal limits on which countries it exists in, once the door has been opened to existing in multiple countries, it is hard to make such limits stick.

Perhaps this tension between mission and structure gets at a larger theological point. As humans, we desire to create perfect structures, a reflection perhaps of the harmony we believe to be part of God's nature. Yet as humans, we are also frequently on the move, and God sends the church along with God's people on the move. Our perfect structures then look less perfect. Yet we continue to revise existing structures and build new ones, which will inevitably again come up short. This pattern is not, however, an exercise in futility but an enacted meditation on the nature of a God who has created, is now re-creating, and will continue to make all things new.