Dear friends:
As an ordained elder (clergy) in the United Methodist Church, and as chaplain at a UMC affiliated college, I have been heartened by the response our denomination has had to the recent executive order. Our General Board of Church & Society, which is headed by the Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, a South Carolinian and recipient of an honorary doctorate from Wofford College, has today issued a letter noting that United Methodists have been responding publicly to these executive orders by taking a stand in word and deed against the exclusion and Islamophobia they promote.
Further, the letter includes an invitation: On Friday, February 3, individuals and groups will join in actions of solidarity with refugee and Muslim communities around noontime Jummah prayer, the largest prayer of the week. We ask you to join us – contact your local masjid (mosque), Muslim community, and interfaith alliance; ask how you can demonstrate solidarity on Friday; invite your friends, fellow worshipers, neighbors, and family to join you; register your event online; and amplify on social media with #WeAreAllAmerica #NoBanNoWall. Be sure to also use the hashtag #UMC so we can see United Methodists engaging in their interfaith communities!
Below you will find web links to UMC action in response to the executive order. I am gratified and inspired by President Samhat’s recent letter that mirrored the values put forth by important agencies of the denomination. I am also pleased that several of our students spent time during interim in Washington D.C. working with the GBC&S in their offices- the only non-governmental building on Capitol Hill.
http://njfon.org/2017/01/30/what-can-i-do-rising-together-to-defeat-the-ban/
Grace & peace,
(The Rev. Dr.) Ron Robinson
Perkins-Prothro Chaplain & Professor of Religion
February 1, 2017
Phillip Ness • Feb 15, 2017 at 2:58 pm
As a Christian and an American, I must say I tend to support the position of the individual who ascertained in his statement that Samhat should not be taking political stances that he ties to my alma mater. What if I choose to believe differently than he does? To me, this is just another example of the far left’s overreaction and narrow mindedness in regard to anyone who may choose to take a stance differing from their agenda. And they are the folks claiming to be so open minded ! I personally do not at all appreciate Samhat speaking on my behalf as a Wofford graduate . I do not need his opinion or endorsement! Wofford College taught me to think independently , above all else. I believe only a small number of refugees who received this more extreme vetting were actually refused entrance to America, hence another overreaction from the far left! Maybe they will start breaking windows etc like those “fair-minded” individuals at U-Cal Berkeley?!?! I hope not…….And suppose, just suppose, that you had a loved one who was killed by a radical Islamic jihadist on 9/11, or at one of the other recent attacks by radical Islamists??!!?? Wouldn’t you be in favor of more stringent restrictions on those entering America, such that they should espouse “our core values” as Americans (please take note, Samhat and Robinson) and be excluded if not?? Even if this saved one American life, it would be worth it. Jesus said “the way would be narrow” and that all would not attain it, a statement that I as an orthodox Christian take to heart and believe may have more than we are aware of nowadays to do with the state we now find our world in. Love and tolerance should indeed be our code as Americans, but only to the extent that radical Islam is kept out of America and those who would injure us are not allowed to do so only so we can appear to be inclusive and politically correct. A further and perhaps less-related statement I would make towards flaming liberals such as Samhat and Robinson is my tremendous belief that “politics is best played between the 40 yard lines”, football parlance. As a nonpartisan individual, I could only urge these two, as simply representatives of Wofford and as actually no more than “small dogs”, to keep their political opinions to themselves and mind their own business, not mine. You two will be long forgotten 20 years from now, while the legacies of TRULY free thinkers (“big dogs”/Terriers) such as Joab Lesesne, Lewis P. Jones, and Walt Leonard will last for generations.
Rev. Cindy Beasley Karges • Feb 3, 2017 at 5:36 pm
As a Wofford Alum (1980) and a current Director of the Board of Church and Society’s Board of Directors I would like to thank Rev. Dr. Robinson for affirming the values of Wofford College and their intersection with the values of the United Methodist Church as well as other faith groups represented at Wofford and around our nation.