Ever the bridge builder and a lighter of torches, Rev. John Wagner is now retiring from leadership of UM for Kairos Response (UMKR) and passing the torch. “At LYNC, we want to celebrate John’s work and glean the wisdom he’s developed as a patient and persistent voice for justice and especially in Palestine,” said Mittie Quinn, Co-Chair of LYNC. “John’s gentle consciousness raising helped LYNC with an ever-expanding understanding of global Methodism and the interconnections between oppressions.

We applaud those who have already brought to light the dangers posed by this selective vaccination program. We also give thanks for our bishops’ leadership in opposition to this initiative.

This offer thinly veils a familiar racist and colonial trope: provide access to essential medical care when it is in the interest of the colonizer; privilege the select few at the expense of the many; claim with self-satisfaction, “Isn’t the LORD in our midst?”

( Photo by Arek Socha, courtesy of Pixabay; graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News)

In an open letter to The United Methodist Church the members of the Love Your Neighbor Coalition call for people of faith to "pick up the mantle of justice and speak out against oppression in all forms but especially the oppression of the most marginalized and at-risk in our world."

Despite the passage of the deeply unjust and painful Traditionalist Plan, we remain committed to justice, inclusion, and the full love of Christ for LGBTQIA+ people in The United Methodist Church. This has been the charge of reconciliation since the language, so harmful to so many lives, was added labeling a part of God’s good creation as “incompatible with Christian teaching” in 1972.

It is a leaner morning to which we awaken. We have before us a slew of legislation characterized by chaos and hostility, not by Christian virtue. Yesterday’s session seemed to set us back in the pursuit of justice for God’s LGBTQ beloveds.

Let us be clear. The Traditional Plan will wreak havoc on the Church in the US and across Central Conferences. The ONLY goal of those pushing the Traditional Plan + exit is to break The UMC. It will have a devastating impact on our work around the world and will end The UMC in the US.