| By
Michael Wacht
LAKELAND — Like the man who founded the
Methodist movement in the 18th century, 21st century United Methodists
are continuing to fight for social justice and against the root causes
of injustice and oppression in the United States and abroad.
The Methodist Church has a long history of
social involvement, and John Wesley was an integral part of the church’s
early work on social issues. He was an outspoken proponent of justice
for England’s poor and a staunch opponent of slavery, especially as
it existed in the United States.
In the 1920s the Methodist Episcopal Church’s
Board of Temperance, Prohibition and Public Morals became the first
tenant of what is now called the United Methodist Building in
Washington, D.C. From that location, Methodists lobbied for the
enactment of Prohibition and against obscenity in magazines and films.
Today, that building remains the only non-government owned property
adjacent to the United States Capitol building.
More recently, United Methodist Bishops have
been in Washington, D.C., seeking peace in the Middle East and more
funding for child welfare programs. The United Methodist Church’s
General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) has issued documents that
endorsed raising taxes on tobacco products, supported anti-cloning
legislation, called for an end to all alcohol advertising on
television, and supported the establishment of a Palestinian state to
help bring peace to the Middle East.
GBCS is the social action agency of the church.
Its work dates back to 1908 when the Methodist Episcopal General
Conference adopted the first Social Creed. Since 1972, it has been
considered the trustee of the Social Principles, which grew out of the
Social Creed.
The Social Principles offer United Methodists
guidance for dealing with some of today’s most pressing social
issues, and people at all levels of the church are working to help
share that stand with local, national and world leaders.
Twelve United Methodist bishops spent June 12
urging the Bush administration and U.S. senators to pass legislation
making children a national priority, according to a story by the
United Methodist News Service (UMNS).
The delegation met with Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-N.Y.) a United Methodist; Tim Goeglin, a special assistant
to President George W. Bush; and several senators or their aides to
push funding and justice issues related to children.
Before those conversations, Marion Wright
Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, reminded the
bishops that only one of seven children eligible for federally
subsidized child care receives it. She also noted that the president
favors freezing the next five years of federal funding for child care
at its present level, which would mean 115,000 fewer children would be
served because of inflation.
The Rev. Paul Dirdak, chief executive of the
United Methodist Committee on Relief, and the Rev. John McCullough, a
United Methodist who serves as executive director for Church World
Service, are among those leaders asking the President to ensure that
the maximum allowable number of refugees—which is 70,000 for 2002—is
admitted.
In a May 21 letter, the leaders pointed out that
Bush had “reaffirmed our nation’s tradition of welcoming refugees”
last Nov. 21 by committing to the 70,000 figure for the following
year. So far, however, only about 11,000 refugees have arrived in the
United States. “We are deeply concerned that unless strong measures
are immediately invoked, thousands of desperate refugees will be
forced to languish in the misery that is the plight of most of the
world’s 15 million refugees,” they wrote.
Bishops of the United Methodist Church also want
to meet with Bush to express their concerns about the testing and use
of nuclear weapons following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on
America.
Claiming “ethical restraint has been
compromised” in the name of the “war on terrorism,” the
150-member international Council of Bishops reiterated the church’s
stand against nuclear weapons and recommitted itself to witnessing for
peace during this time of conflict.
The bishops adopted the statement, “In the
Aftermath of 9-11,” during their April 28-May 3 meeting. In it they
said they will seek an audience with Bush, a United Methodist, to
remind him of the church’s stands on war, weapons and the ways of
peace.
The Social Principles denounce war as “incompatible
with the teachings and example of Christ,” while acknowledging that
“force of arms” may be needed to counter “unchecked aggression,
tyranny and genocide,” and call for condemnation of “the
production, possession or use of nuclear weapons.”
In a speech to participants of a United
Methodist Hunger Summit held to focus on creating a movement to end
hunger in the United States, evangelist and American Baptist Church
clergyman Tony Campolo said he admires the United Methodist Church for
its social justice work.
“You stand up for people who will never attend
your church and aggravate those who do,” he said. |
