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In the aftermath of the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio and Gilroy, California, we, the National Association of Filipino American United Methodists (NAFAUM), are joining with the Council of Bishops calling the people called Methodists to name the sins of white supremacy and xenophobia which is fueling the culture of violence and put an end to its ripples in society. This tragedies are some of hundreds of mass shootings* in the US in 2019. It now adds to the scores upon scores of mass shootings across decades.
As Filipino Americans, history reminds us “on Jan. 19, 1930, after a night when Filipino men were seen with white women in a dance hall in Watsonville, California, a mob of 500 attacked the Filipinos in the town and rioted for five days. On January 22, Tobera was shot and killed in his farmhouse bunk. No one was charged for his murder. Instead of sympathy for the Filipino workers, the violence fueled more anti-Filipino sentiment throughout the farm communities of Northern California. Filipino Americans aren’t above the fray in any of the gun violence happening today. We were targeted before. We can be targeted again.”**
As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Wesleyan faith teaches us to be humble servants for humanity and instruct do no harm by rejecting bad, evil, and hate in every form, do good and stay in love with God. With this firm belief , we stand tall together to affirm to ourselves, our neighbors, and the wider community these shared beliefs.
We call upon our fellow Asian Americans and United Methodists, and everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion, to join us in rejecting the culture of hate and violence. We reject and condemn all forms of white supremacy and the harmful ideology of white nationalism, together with all forms of racism, xenophobia, and prejudice. Let us not give into rising tides of evil around us, nor simply be ones who curse the evil, but stand together as candles who by our actions shed that light which can extinguish the evils of hatred, indifference, oppression, and violence we see around us.
We join with the Council of Bishops in calling everyone “to be the people we profess to be: disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world (Book of Discipline, Paragraph 120). We pray for healing among those who are grieving, amendment of life among those who have done violence, and judgment upon our human hearts when our spoken words have contributed to violence (Matthew 12). We commit ourselves to the transformation of systems and laws that reflect the life that Jesus promises (John 10).”
* https://www.cbsnews.com/…/mass-shootings-2019-more-mass-sh…/
** Emil Guillermo article dated 08/19 “Filipinos have seen when guns and white supremacy mixed”.
Grace & Peace,
NAFAUM Board 2018-2020
Rev. Edgar De Jesus
Rev. Dr. Lilian Gallo Seagren
Joash Mencias
Haniel Garibay
Rev. Dr. Arman Arellano
Sophia Agtarap
Riva Tabelisma
Dr. Ligaya Marasigan
Rev. Levi Laguardia
Pros Tumonong
Rev. Alex Cambe
Pong Javier
Rev. Nelson Castorillo (Filipino Vitality Commission)