Dear Justice Seeker, 

The last few weeks have been devastating. Black lives have been lost to senseless murder by the police. Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have been taken from this world, their lives stolen by those who are supposed to care and protect. Ahmaud Arbery murdered while jogging. The work to raise the racial conscience of individuals and communities continues. The biggest and most impactful change we can make as a society is to make change on the systemic and institutional level. It is essential to mobilize individuals and communities to put pressure and hold institutions, organizations, and people in power in those institutions accountable. Institutions like our school systems and criminal justice systems. Individuals like our elected officials. Yes even institutions like our churches, our denomination, our annual conferences, and individuals like our bishops, district superintendents, and ourselves. 

MFSA continues to be committed to becoming an anti-racist organization because in order to make change in our church and world we must first make change within ourselves. We have begun our Organizational Racial Audit work which will help us seek out and investigate the ways MFSA is complicit in disrupting white supremacy within our organization (National Office, Chapters, Members, policies, etc.). In the coming months, we will be sharing more about this work. 

We encourage you as justice-seeking people of faith, in particular, white allies to continue to do your own work and sharpen your skills. Below are two excellent resources to begin that work right now. You will also find other resources in this newsletter in our Justice-Seeking Community Highlight and in the Books to Read list. These are resources that you can do on your own or even better with a group in your congregation, with your chapter, a group of friends, etc. Also, be sure to take a close look at the Take Action section for action steps you can take.

1. Resource for basic racial justice education https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/racism-101.html

2. The pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago preaches a Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery. Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III | The Cross and the Lynching Tree: A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery

The MFSA Program Council (group with representatives from each chapter) met last week and will be engaging in the Poor People's Campaign nationally across our chapters. MFSA is a co-sponser of the Poor People's Campaighn (PPC) and many chapters have been engaged in the PPC locally. We are excited to work together in a more coordinated fashion.  Follow us on social media to get the most immediate updates and join the United Methodists Engage in the Poor People's Campaign fb group.

We continue to see the urgency of our work to make broad systemic change that honors the dignity and worth of all people, that puts people over money and honors the earth and all her inhabitants. COVID-19 continues to highlight the inequity in our society that has literal life or death consequences- black and brown bodies have a higher death rate, the disabled are being passed over to care for younger healthier bodies, the poor, unhoused, undocumented, uninsured, and incarcerated populations are not getting the care and support that they need. 

This is the work of MFSA. Since 1907 we have been shining a light on injustice and organizing to change it. The work we do together as justice-seeking people of faith to change these unjust systems continues. Whether we are employed, unemployed, or retired, whether or not our jobs are deemed “essential” or not, we are all essential in the work for justice. Whatever support you can provide at this time will help MFSA in our collective work for justice.

You make our collective work possible by your witness for justice every day in your church, community, and Annual Conference. MFSA does not receive any financial support from the United Methodist Church's giving channels. 100% of our budget is funded through your membership dues and your generosity in giving.

Chapter Highlight: Rio Texas MFSA

Batteries, Oil, Paint, and Antifreeze (BOPA) Recycling 

The annual Batteries, Oil, Paint, and Antifreeze (BOPA) Recycling event is one way in which Rio Texas MFSA participates in and takes action towards Environmental Justice. Before the spread of the Coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the WHO, Rio Texas MFSA was able to host this annual event in 2020.  Ready with empty trailers in the parking lot of Crestview United Methodist Church, Rio Texas MFSA welcomed community members to drop off their used batteries, oil, paint, and antifreeze recyclables.  Then, these difficult to recycle items were taken to the city's hazardous waste recycling depot. 

We recognize that we are in the midst of a pandemic, and measures to prevent and minimize the spread of and contact with the virus has rightfully become a priority in our lives.  However, even in the midst of pandemic, please continue to do your part as good stewards to take care of this planet as best as you can.  Please continue to recycle what is possible.  This article gives helpful tips on how to recycle in pre-COVID time.  Use your best judgement, and utilize what tips are applicable given your circumstances. Please continue to do your part to take care of your community and continue to practice social distancing, wear masks, wash hands, and more.

Justice-Seeking Community Highlight

Statement 

Dear Community,

This is not a time to be silent.  For those of us who have come to be known as white, we must move out of our privileged and removed bystander status and speak out about the reality of racialized violence and terror in our communities. 

We decry the unwarranted use of violence by Minneapolis police, in crushing the breath and life out of George Floyd.  

We rage at the use and manipulation of white supremacy in order to inflict harm and issue a false claim against a completely innocent and law-abiding citizen in a park, Christian Cooper.  

These events, occurring not more than a day apart, follow the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, who was simply out for a run and was killed by two white men who saw him as a threat.  

Not many days before that, Breonna Taylor, a black woman living in Louisville, Kentucky, was shot to death by police, while sleeping in her bed.  

These events are connected, rooted in and perpetuated by a culture that makes racism all too comfortable.  

When our siblings of color cannot drive down a street, look at the birds in a park, sleep in their own beds, or go out for a run without escaping the present and oppressive reality of white supremacy, we cannot stand by and watch.  We must scream out for justice for Breonna Taylor, for Ahmaud Arbery, for George Floyd, and for Christian Cooper!  But we must do more than bear witness to these horrors.  As followers of Jesus, our faith compels us to actively participate in dismantling racism and confronting white supremacy in whatever form it takes.  

We, at St. Paul & St. Andrew, renew our pledge and work towards becoming an anti-racist community.  This is lifelong work.  This is the most urgent work there is.  And we commit to it, today and every day.  

Your Pastors,
Lea and K

Below are articles and statements to assist us in our ongoing learning:

“How to be anti-racist” with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi on MoveOn:  https://www.facebook.com/moveon/videos/594792391148636/

“75 Things White People Can Do” by Corinne Shutack
https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

“America’s Racial Contract is Killing Us: The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying” by Adam Serwer in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/americas-racial-contract-showing/611389/

General Board of Church and Society and General Commission on Religion and Race
https://www.gcorr.org/statement-by-gbcs-gcorr-on-the-killing-of-ahmaud-arbery/

United Methodist Women
https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/news/united-methodist-women-urges-members-to-resist-racism

“It looks like Amy Cooper, the white woman in the viral Central Park video, is a liberal. That's important: When you jump to assume she's a MAGA campaigner or a Trump supporter due to her actions, you erase the very real problem of white liberal racism” by Nylah Burton

If your church, small group, ministry group, or community is interested in becoming a Justice-Seeking Community, please click the link and check out the JSC Covenant

Murdered by the Police

Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Sean Reed, and Tony McDade are only the most recent people who have been killed by the police. There are countless more. We mourn each and every life taken and hold their loved ones in prayer. Say their names and pray with your feet by taking action to dismantle white supremacy in yourself, our institutions, and our society.  

 Taken from Us by Covid-19

The US has lost over 100,000 lives to COVID-19. The world has lost over 356,000 lives. We mourn each and every person and continue to hold their loved ones in our prayers. To honor their memory, we urge you to save lives by practicing social distancing even if your state is not requiring it.  

If you would like to celebrate the life of a Justice-Seeker please send notifications and information to communications@mfsaweb.org.

Now's the Time for Action 

Now is the time to continue to push for broad systemic change. Here are a few ways you can step up and seek justice in these uncertain and difficult times: 

1. Do you own work to unpack the ways you perpetuate white supremacy. Here are some resources to get started. Don't do this work alone, encourage your church, small group, MFSA chapter, etc to learn together.

2. Demand justice for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Sean Reed, and Tony McDade. Call your local elected officials and demand justice and comprehensive reform. If they do nothing vote them out!

3. Make sure you are registered to vote and help others get registered!

4. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is currently facing the potential loss of what is left of their homelands, land that the People of the First Light have occupied for over 12,000 years, due to a recent decision made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Inter-Ethnic Strategy Development Group (IESDG) has shared a Call to Action opposing the Disestablishment of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Sign the petition to stand with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

5. Raise your voice by calling Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and join the moral cry for non-cooperation with the dangerous and reckless policies to ease social distancing restrictions and reopen the economy instead of providing real relief. Stay in Place! Stay Alive! Organize!

6. Join United Methodist Women to put pressure on your members of Congress to pass the moratorium, or temporary ban, on water, power and broadband shutoffs during this pandemic.

7. The pandemic marginalizes those already most marginalized in society. Host a virtual Card Writing Party to write and mail letters to immigrants in detention via The Casa Mariposa Detention Visitation Program.

8. Sign the petition and demand the release of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons and detention centers. Learn more about this campaign: No Way to Treat a Child

9. Call your legislators (202-224-3121) and advocate for permanent federal paid sick leave, expanded unemployment benefits, SNAP increases, and a moratorium on evictions, utility shut-offs, and payments.

10. Complete the 2020 Census. It literally takes up 10 minutes of your time, but it will define public policies for the next 10 years. Learn more about the importance of the U.S. Census from Church and Society board member Raúl Alegría.

11. So much of this country is in an economic free-fall in response to COVID-19 while many Americans were already at rock bottom before the virus hit. Use your voice and sign the petition calling on Congress for a moral response to COVID-19. The current legislation doesn't do enough to address the extent of the crisis (universal health care, living wages, worker protection, adequate income, and anti-poverty programs to name a few).

12. Our taxpayer dollars should be invested in healthcare, not harm. Right now, we're paying for the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip instead of healthcare for all. That means Palestinians in Gaza are facing the COVID-19 pandemic with an Israeli-manufactured and U.S.-funded health catastrophe. Contact your elected officials.

13. Sign the petition: Demand state and federal lawmakers end the use of private prisons and protect incarcerated people from COVID-19.

In Case You Missed It

1. Click here to watch MFSA and UMKR's joint call highlighting three Methodist Mission Workers and their experiences of COVID-19 in Palestine

2. An article on MFSA and ICHRP's joint call on the impacts of the Coronavirus in the Philippines.

3. Watch LIT LIVE's latest installment to their Resilient and Resistant Conversation series, focusing on systemic racism and over policing, in partnership with Church and Society.

While many states have begun to end sheltering in place orders and Trump is encouraging churches to open their doors for in-person worship, we continue to encourage you to do no harm. Many states and politicians are encouraging churches to open and worship in person. We continue to urge you to act with an abundance of caution and care for your community. We know that enclosed spaces are not safe to gather and the virus can be spread more easily by singing. 

We believe that the church has an obligation to remain faithful and act with love, and in this time of pandemic, to act with love is to stay home and save lives. Closing the physical church doors does not mean that the church is closed. The Body of Christ does not dissipate because we cannot congregate together physically.  

We at MFSA encourage you to be a witness and a good neighbor. Please continue to do your part in flattening the curve by practicing physical distancing and worship from home. 

#MFSAVoices #JusticeSeeking #StayHomeSaveLives