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.
https://umc-gbcs.org/press-releases/social-justice-agency-of-the-united-methodist-church-stands-with-immigrants
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