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    United Methodists of Upper New YorkLiving the Gospel. Being God's Love.


    news article

    NEJ delegates vow to fight racism in church, community

    July 19, 2016 / By Maidstone Mulenga

    Delegates to the 2016 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, meeting in Lancaster on Thursday July 14, pledged to work together as United Methodists to fight the scourge of racism.

    The pledge was made after the conference unanimously approved a resolution that called for the church to do more to fight discrimination, to confront racism, and to affirm that all lives matter in God's eyes.

    In the resolution brought to the floor by the Rev. Joe Daniels of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, the delegates agreed to join the bishops in leading the church in healing “the wounds caused by unchecked racism, white privilege and internalized oppression.”

    The delegates also vowed to help their annual conferences to initiate conversations on white privilege, white supremacy, racism and oppression within district, sub-district and each local church.

    The approved resolution also called on the NEJ to evaluate and address the impact of structural and institutional racism on people of color, particularly concerning the closing of black churches and “how current ordination processes in the annual conferences affect black persons interested in ordained ministry.”

    As part of their pledge, all the annual conferences will be required to provide an annual update on work to the NEJ Committee on Episcopacy and the Multi-Ethnic Center for Ministry.

    The NEJ also agreed to make sure that black leaders are represented at every level of the Jurisdiction; to start more black churches, to increase the number of viable and sustainable black churches and ministries in the NEJ. Click here to read the full text of the amended resolution on page 10 of the July 15, 2016 issue of the Daily Christian Advocate.

    Editor’s Note: This information originally appeared in the Daily Christion Advocate Volume 20, Issue 6, Friday, July 15, 2016.

    TAGGED / NEJ 2016


    With more than 100,000 members, United Methodists of Upper New York comprises of more than 675 local churches and New Faith Communities in 12 districts, covering 48,000 square miles in 49 of the 62 counties in New York state. Our vision is to “live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be God’s love with our neighbors in all places."