United Methodists Sponsor Events on Racism, Creation Care

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United Methodists are coming through with thoughtful events that focus on identifying and solving some of our biggest social crises.

Northern Illinois Anti-Racism Series

The Northern Illinois Conference's Anti-Racism Task Force will welcome the Rev. Chebon Kernell as guest speaker for the next episode of its "Race, America and the Church" (see logo above). Rev. Kernell's talk titled " Undenied: No Longer Willing to Be Unheard," will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22 online via Zoom and in-person at Our Redeemer's in Schaumburg, 1600 W. Schaumburg Rd., Schaumburg, Ill.

Rev. Kernell is a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and of Muscogee Creek heritage. He is the current executive director of the Native American Comprehensive Plan of The United Methodist Church and formerly served as executive secretary of Native American and Indigenous Ministries for the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries. He is an ordained Elder in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.

The Rev. Pamela Pirtle will serve as moderator for the event. Rev. Pirtle serves as the Senior Director of Leadership Development and Accountability for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW). She is the assistant pastor for St. Mark UMC Chicago. She serves on the Conference Committee on Finance Administration and is a former United Voices for Children board member. She is an Elder in the United Methodist Church and a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Register Online. Find out more from the 2022 speaker series.

North Carolina Creation Care Series

The North Carolina Conference creation care committee says it is "continuing our efforts to equip you Saints of Jesus Christ with practical knowledge that you can use to care for God’s creation." The committee has sponsored a series of webinars on how to advocate for climate justice, how to build a local climate justice movement, and how to save the planet in your own yard." Two more webinars remain in September:

Nature’s Best Hope, with wildlife ecology professor Doug Tallamy, 7:00 p.m., Sept. 20. This webinar will teach participants how to create insect- and bird-friendly home landscapes that will help save species now threatened with habitat loss. Register Here

Building a United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, with the Rev. Sharon Delgado, 7:00 p.m., Sept. 27. An ordained United Methodist minister, speaker, writer, organizer, and activist, Rev. Delgado has been working on climate justice and related issues for over 30 years. She is on the Coordinating Committee of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and is the Cal-Nevada Climate Justice Ministries Coordinator. She especially works in the area of countering entrenched special interests to bring about widespread cultural and institutional changes. Her newest book is The Cross in the Midst of Creation: Following Jesus, Engaging the Powers, Transforming the World. Register Here.

In announcing these events, The Rev. Jarrod Davis, North Carolina clergy and a board member with the UM Creation Justice Movement, quotes United Methodist layman and creation care "godfather" Bill McKibben, “The main way to counter the malign power of vested interests is to meet organized money with organized people.”

North UMC-Indianapolis holds two-day event on Earth stewardship

In October, North UMC in Indianapolis will hold two events on creation care and Earth stewardship. The Oct. 8-9 event is part of North UMC's Richard E. and Anna Lee Hamilton Series on Theology and Contemporary Issues.

Dr. Tim Eberhart, associate professor of ecological theology and director of the Center for Ecological Regeneration at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, will deliver the keynote address on Saturday, Oct. 8 during a free Creation Care Conference from 9 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. at the church. A free lunch will be provided in Fellowship Hall to attendees. Those who wish to have lunch should RSVP their names and number of lunches needed to events@northchurchindy.com by Oct. 3.

Dr. Eberhart will be the guest preacher on Sunday, Oct. 9 at both of the church's worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. The Cathedral Singers will debut two choral anthems commissioned for this event: "The Waters of Isaiah" by Justine Koontz and "River of Peace" by Mark Hayes. The 11 a.m. service will be livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, which can be accessed from the home page of the church's website at NorthChurchIndy.com.

This special event is made possible through The Richard E. and Anna Lee Hamilton Series on Theology and Contemporary Issues, which honors former North UMC senior pastor Richard Hamilton and his wife Anna Lee, and is underwritten by the William E. Schmidt Foundation, Nick and Susan Blankenbaker Noyes, and the Blankenbaker family.

To learn more about North United Methodist Church, see www.northchurchindy.com.

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Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email Insight for permission.