July 2020 — pg. 19
Bishop Matt Whitehead said the discussion was “not a
one-off conversation,” and he invited everyone to make it an
“ongoing conversation” in “every local church, in every Free
Methodist congregation. ... As Free Methodists, we want to
be people who really genuinely hear and then respond.” He
also requested forgiveness for the denomination not living
up to “the incredible ground of equality that was planted
by the founders of the Free Methodist Church.”
Amelia Cleveland-Traylor — a River Conference
superintendent, medical doctor, and member of the
FMCUSA Board of Administration — said she was excited
but also wary of sharing because people often get offended
or disconnect when discussing race.
“I am not seeking a colorblind world. I would never even
suggest such a thing. Our God is so wonderful and creative
that He built us in beautiful technicolor. When you see me,
I want you to see the proud black woman that I actually am
and say that that’s actually OK, so I’m not here today to be
a doctor,” Cleveland-Traylor said. “I’m not here today to be
a superintendent. I’m not here today even to be a pastor.
I’m simply a black woman who happens to be a wife, a
mother, a sister, a daughter and hopefully a friend.”
She described the United States as “a hot mess right
now” and noted that COVID-19 has infected more than 2
million Americans and claimed more lives than if the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks happened “35 days in a row.”
Then in the midst of the pandemic, she said, “we get to
watch a man choked to death, snuffed out, in a video. We
hear about Breonna Taylor dying in her own apartment,
and we see Ahmaud Arbery chased down, shot and killed,”
and it becomes unbearable when people view their deaths
as isolated incidents.
“Jesus’ earthly ministry was marked by His care and His
compassion for marginalized people. It’s funny to me how
often the church forgets that,” she said. “The church is so
incredibly happy and faithful to support hurting people
around the globe but not around the corner.”
Michael Traylor, a River Conference superintendent and
medical doctor, noted that Free Methodists often highlight
the denomination’s abolitionist heritage, but, despite
“pockets of isolated cultural ministry,” the denomination
has rarely demonstrated an institutional backing with
resources devoted to equity and opportunities for people
of color.
“A history of being against slavery does not necessarily
mean an environment or a culture that empowers persons
of color,” said Traylor, who added that Free Methodist
opposition to slavery “is something we should celebrate,
but it’s significantly different than saying we want to
promote people who are ethnically, culturally different and
that we see them on the same plane.”
Traylor cited theologian Chanequa Walker-Barnes’
view of the “beloved community” as “a liberated people in
transformed relationships coming together to make a new
world.” He said that for Free Methodists to “be a liberated
people, we’ve got to deal with our own racisms and sexisms
and stuff. To really be free, we’ve got to deal with those
things.”
Robert Marshall, the lead pastor of Los Angeles
Community Church and the director of the African
Heritage Network of the FMC, said the network started
because of “a feeling of being alone if you were a pastor of
African heritage. There was a feeling of being isolated, and
so coming together helped this group of people realize not
just its worth but its value to the church at large.”
He said the church needs to hear a prophetic message
from God that advances the conversation and results in
action.
“In Christ, we are one human race. John in 1 John
4:16–21 just points out that there happens to be a major
difference, even in the church, and the difference is those
who claim to love God but don’t; they actually hate their
brother,” Marshall said. “Love is not lip service. Love is
hard.”
Marshall took issue with some people using the “wrongful
death” description for the murder of George Floyd. “It was
a slaying. It was a killing in cold blood” by a “white man
in authority with his knee on the neck of another man,”
said Marshall, who added that he’s not surprised by the
reaction of people in the world, but he’s disappointed by
the reaction in the church “when my white brothers and
sisters refuse to acknowledge what we see and say, ‘I don’t
understand why you protest. I don’t understand why you’re
so angry.’”
Charles Latchison, the lead pastor of Light & Life West
Church and a superintendent of the Free Methodist
Church in Southern California, viewed the “Talk, Listen
& Learn Together” discussion as contributing to a spiritual
breakthrough that is happening.
“If there is any picture of the Lord doing a new thing,
breaking forth streams in the wilderness, this is, in fact,
one of those streams,” said Latchison, referencing Isaiah
43:19. He added that now is the time for people to evaluate
their hearts along with their blind spots and motives.
“To see the protests happen on a global scale like we’ve
never seen it before, there is an awakening that has taken
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