I have been at the helm of the communication department at Church and Society for nearly three years.
I have survived one General Conference, three board meetings and countless other church events.
It is an immense privilege to work for justice and peace on behalf of The United Methodist Church, and I love my job.
I get to interact with United Methodists on a daily basis who are passionate about the church, and United Methodists who are passionate about justice, peace and the Social Principles. Much of the time, those two groups overlap. Some times they do not.
Enter: the hate mail.
Hate mail
As the director of communication, I receive feedback to the work of Church and Society in all forms: tweets, Facebook posts, emails, phone calls. You name it, I absorb it.
Sometimes, when passionate United Methodists respond to Church and Society, the messages are so hate-filled they can knock you back on your heels.
I want to share with you some of the responses that we receive. Why share these now? I am fiercely protective of the passionate and devoted people that make up the staff of Church and Society. Even if you don’t agree with the positions of The United Methodist Church, you cannot disagree that every member of the staff is passionate about the church and Christian faith, and tirelessly advocates for a more just and peaceful world.
How pathetic the church has become….. hiring off what Christ called us to do to a secular government. Another reason the GBCS needs to be closed, boarded up and repented for….. it is truly Satan’s headquarters!!!!
And,
One problem you idiots don’t seem to be able to understand… Obamacare does not work!!! The GBCS is probably one of the most political… most worthless groups in the UMC!
And,
These people follow a religion that has nothing to do with Biblical faith.
And,
The spin put out by this nut case “Susan Crowe” needs to be exposed for what it is: propaganda for the left wing extremists. She is a kook.
All of the sexist and misogynistic emails and posts that refer to the Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, a woman with over 40 years of ministry experience, as “Susie” or “little Susie.” Or the phone call that is burned into my memory where the caller said that if Susan read the Bible, she would know that she shouldn’t even be behind the pulpit.
Reading these words from fellow Christians can test my faith and my belief in the general goodness of people. However, for every hate-filled message I receive, there are dozens – if not hundreds – of messages espousing the opposite.
Those messages buoy me amid the hate-filled ones.
So I have a joint resolution for all of us this year: send no hate mail.
You can absolutely disagree with the policies of The United Methodist Church. You can disagree with the work of the General Board of Church and Society.
But I ask that you put your disagreements into a frame of Christian love and respect. For we might not always agree with our neighbor, but Christ calls us to love.
Prayers for a 2018 filled with respectful disagreements!
Tricia Bruckbauer serves as director of communications for the General Board of Church and Society, the social justice agency of The United Methodist Church headquartered in Washington, D.C. This post is republished with permission from the boards "Faith in Action" newsletter.