Philly Gun Violence
About 25 congregational leaders gathered for an interfaith prayer vigil on Friday, April 23, on the lawn of Janes Memorial UMC in Philadelphia. Christian and Jewish clergy prayed fervently for God to deliver the beleaguered city from its unrelenting gun violence epidemic. (From left) Bishop Peggy Johnson prayed, along with the Rev. Jeanette Davis, host pastor the Rev. Gregory Holston and his wife Deborah Holston, and many others. The Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity called upon the city’s pastors to lead prayers at or near their houses of worship on Friday at 11 AM. (John Coleman photo)
A United Methodist Insight Column
There’s good news on the pandemic front in the United States. Churches and faith-based organizations are stepping up to aid health care agencies with coronavirus vaccinations, and their participation could lead to herd immunity more quickly than expected.
Religion News Service reports: Health care organizations find success with faith-based allies in vaccine distribution. In addition, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and Interfaith Youth Core recently reported on a joint survey on how religious communities can encourage COVID-19 vaccinations, in a video for NBC News by Corky Siemaszko. During a presentation of the survey’s findings, IFYC Founder Eboo Patel said that PRRI and IFYC’s recent report examining how religious communities can encourage COVID-19 vaccination “could be the key to herd immunity.” PRRI’s newsletter says that the survey showed that 26% of white evangelical Protestants say they are not going to get vaccinated, compared with 14% of all Americans and one in five or fewer of all other religious groups. See also an RNS article, Survey: Faith leaders key to combat vaccine hesitancy among religious — and QAnon believers
Camphor UMC Vaccinations
Camphor UMC in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference serves as a COVID-19 vaccination site. (Photo Courtesy of Camphor UMC member Carol Black).
In the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, more United Methodist churches are joining the effort to serve as vaccination sites for underserved communities of color. EPA’s recent newsletter says: “Eastwick UMC hosted a vaccination clinic partnering with Rite AId, and it will host its follow-up clinic May 15. Janes Memorial UMC in Philadelphia will be a vaccination site May 8. And Camphor UMC in Philadelphia hosted an initial clinic April 3 and another for second-shot returnees on Saturday, April 24.
“Camphor partnered with Sunray Drug Store in Philadelphia, thanks to a friend who is a deacon at First Korean Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. The two churches have had a 25-plus year friendship, marked by their annual joint worship and celebration event.
“’Due to COVID-19, we have been unable to host the large fellowship of over 400 persons the past two years at our respective churches,’ said Camphor member Carol Black, ‘but God found this way to further our friendship and save lives.’
Meanwhile, out in the Greater Northwest episcopal area, Bishop Elaine J.W. Stanovsky writes that the region – the first major COVID-19 hotbed in the country – is “making progress” on a return to some normalcy, but that “we’re not there yet.” In a coronavirus update, Bishop Stanovsky encourages pandemic-weary United Methodist churches to proceed slowly with their re-opening plans, keeping tabs on the vaccination rates and any upticks in new infections.
“The rapid vaccine rollout gives us hope that we can enjoy more freedom to gather as families and faith communities soon,” Bishop Stanovsky writes. “Vaccinations coupled with continuous strict adherence to safety protocols are expected to lower infection rates, hospitalizations, and COVID-19 related deaths.”
QAnon Beliefs Are Associated with Vaccine Hesitancy
In another finding, the PRRI/IFYC data shows that “there is a clear relationship between vaccine hesitancy and refusal and belief in QAnon conspiracy theories,” according to the PRRI newsletter: ”Only 5% of Americans who are vaccine accepters generally agree with QAnon conspiracy theories, compared to 17% of those who are vaccine hesitant and nearly four in ten Americans (38%) who are vaccine refusers. By contrast, a majority of vaccine accepters (54%) completely disagree with all four theories, compared to only 22% of the vaccine hesitant and 12% of vaccine refusers. The data also shows that 20% of Republicans are generally agreeable with QAnon conspiracy theories, compared to only about one in ten independents (11%) and Democrats (8%). A majority of Republicans (59%) hold mixed but generally negative views of QAnon beliefs.”
U.S. police killings of Blacks may be crimes against humanity
Anecdotally, we didn’t need confirmation as to the harm caused by police killings of Black Americans, but a new report makes it official: Police killings of Black Americans amount to crimes against humanity, international inquiry finds.
The Guardian reports that an inquiry by leading international civil rights lawyers has found that “the systematic killing and maiming of unarmed African Americans by police amount to crimes against humanity that should be investigated and prosecuted under international law. In a 188-page report, writes The Guardian, “human rights experts from 11 countries hold the US accountable for what they say is a long history of violations of international law that rise in some cases to the level of crimes against humanity.”
And some good news on the climate crisis
Another piece of good news: The Washington Post reports, “Swift action to cut methane emissions could slow the Earth’s warming by 30 percent, study finds.”
One report author said, “People talk about net zero in 2050 but what the temperature will be in 2050 will be determined by what we do now.” Eleven United Methodist boards and agencies recently announced a new campaign to cut the UMC’s carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050.
The Post writes: “The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, calculated that a full-scale push using existing technologies could reduce methane emissions in half by 2030. Such reductions could have a crucial impact in the global effort to limit warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial levels — a central aim of the Paris climate accord.
“In human terms, that could translate into fending off the most severe sea level rise, preventing more profound damage to animal habitats and ecosystems and delaying other extreme climate impacts.”
Climate activists in local congregations can learn how to participate in reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emission in the forthcoming Climate Resilience Workshop: Preparing Your Congregation for Climate Disasters sponsored by the ecumenical organization Creation Justice Ministries.
“As we enter another season of climate-driven disasters, it is time to step back and ask: How can our congregations be hubs of climate resilience, helping our communities weather the spiritual and physical storms of the climate crisis?,” says the webinar announcement.
In the workshop, participants will learn “about the domestic and global context of climate disasters, get connected with resources for disaster response and recovery, and engage in conversations and activities for developing context-specific disaster preparedness and response plans.”
“Preparing Your Congregation for Climate Disasters” will be held 6:30pm-7:30pm ET Thursday, May 13. Register for the virtual workshop here
Media Mentions as of April 27, 2021
In New York, interfaith coalition makes common cause against rising tide of hate – Religion News Service
Bible translation movement eyes scripture access for all Deaf sign languages by 2033 – Religion News Service
Oklahoma governor signs near-total abortion ban into law – CNN
Montana governor signs trio of bills restricting abortion – The Hill
The tiny American towns passing anti-abortion rules – The Guardian
Global faith leaders call for drug firms to vaccinate world against Covid – The Guardian
The future of Christians in the Middle East – National Review *
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Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.