A United Methodist Insight Column
Statistics have now underscored what we’ve been learning about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on communities of color: 2020 was a “tinderbox” for Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American communities, according to The Marshall Project, a nationwide media journal that focuses on criminal justice in the United States.
From The Marshall Project’s April 8 article, “Murders Rose Last Year. Black and Hispanic Neighborhoods Were Hit Hardest”:
“As COVID-19 raged through Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native communities, the devastation went beyond the disproportionate death toll, experts said. Lost jobs or wages have been concentrated in communities of color when businesses shut down. Schools, recreation centers and after-school programs have been shuttered in neighborhoods that need them most. Mentoring, counseling, prison and jail reentry programs and conflict mediation programs have scaled back, gone remote, or spent precious bandwidth filling other gaps like handing out PPE or passing out food.”
United Methodists have attempted to address some of the impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic, such as distributing food, addressing racial disparities in health care, and providing nearly $1 million in grants for local assistance through a special COVID-19 Fund set up by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). The pandemic’s spiritual toll has been exacerbated by public health restrictions such as physical distancing and bans on in-person gatherings such as worship services, leaving thousands of families to cope with COVID-19’s social stresses with limited support.
Entering the second year of the pandemic, with fears of another wave of infection despite increased vaccinations against the coronavirus, what can we do to help ease long-term emotional and psychological effects of the public health crisis? When we look at the pain wrought by the coronavirus – nearly 570,000 deaths in the United States alone – can we find ways, however ragged and temporary, to comfort individuals and address the corrupt systems the pandemic has exposed? For example, of the 570,000 people who have died, The Guardian reports, “More than 3,600 US healthcare workers died in the first year of the pandemic according to Lost on the Frontline, a 12-month investigation by the Guardian and Kaiser Health News (KHN) to track such deaths.”
If you or your local congregation have any ideas for ministries to counter the coronavirus’ spiritual effects, send them to us here at United Methodist Insight and we’ll publish them in future columns. To get you started, here's one idea from the Indiana Annual Conference:
Grace United Methodist Church in Blackford County decided to give every health care worker in its county a gift card to a locally owned business. Grace UMC's pastor, the Rev. Curt Hunt, and missions chair Patty Poulson delivered cards to 453 healthcare workers including "253 hospital staff, EMS, and Doctors Lee, Stewart, and Borgenheimer of the Blackford Rural Heath Clinic at IU Blackford Hospital; 60 workers at Miller’s Merry Manor; 40 workers at Bridgewater Nursing Home; 20 workers at Crown Pointe; 15 workers at Hearts With Integrity Home Healthcare; 18 local doctors and their staff including Doctors Lori and Milus Skidmore of Montpelier, and Doctor Jennifer Clamme of Hartford City; 25 workers of the Hartford City Fire Department; and 22 workers at the Montpelier Volunteer Fire Department," reported Scott Shaffer of the News-Times.
Future scenarios look bleak, but hope remains
Hard on the heels of The Marshall Project's report, the Washington Post reported: "On Thursday, the National Intelligence Council, a center in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that creates strategic forecasts and estimates, often based on material gathered by U.S. spy agencies, released its quadrennial “Global Trends” report." The short version is, most scenarios for the next 20 years look pretty bleak.
Nonetheless, the forecasters acknowledge that they can't see the future and that their predictions could just as easily turn out to be wrong. As Post reporter Shane Harris writes: "Ultimately, the societies that succeed will be those that can adapt to change, but also forge social consensus around what should be done, the authors write. In a splintering world, that may be the hardest scenario to imagine."
Moltmann Hope
The cover of Jürgen Moltmann's book, "Hope in These Troubled Times."
With its own imminent fracturing, The United Methodist Church proves this hypothesis on the macro level. However, during this past pandemic year, local congregations and some annual conferences have proven themselves capable of adapting to change and of agreeing on how to go about adapting. That alone gives us hope for the church's future, and for its potential to be a force for good in our "splintering world."
If you need more encouragement or support, the World Council of Churches is offering a free PDF copy of theologian Jürgen Moltmann's book, "Hope in These Troubled Times." Professor Moltmann just turned 95, and his wisdom is highly respected around the world.
Voter suppression calls out faith-based response
Speaking of corrupt systems, state legislatures’ efforts to suppress voting rights are being actively opposed by faith-based organizations across the United States. According to the Washington Post, state legislators have introduced more than 250 bills in 43 states that allegedly address “voter fraud” – an idea built upon the lie that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Donald Trump. In reality the measures are designed to put obstacles in voters’ paths. For a good explanation of the rationale behind voter suppression efforts, see Heather Cox Richardson’s April 7 “Letter from an American.”
Many United Methodist congregations participated in last fall’s “Souls to the Polls” voting events, which helped to create the biggest U.S. voter turnout in more than a century. Church leaders are concerned that the new voter suppression laws will curtail not only voting turnout, but the humanitarian efforts that churches offer to sustain voters as they wait to cast their ballots. In Georgia, faith groups left water bottles around the state capitol in protest.
Once again, these reactions resulted from social changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Says the Washington Post: “The rush to crack down on voting methods comes after many states temporarily expanded mail and early voting in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the largest voter turnout in more than a century. The changes reshaped both who turned out and how they voted, with an astounding 116 million people — 73 percent of the electorate — casting their ballots before Election Day, according to The Post’s analysis.”
I thought about these latest developments as I recently watched an old movie about which I’d long heard: “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” The Frank Capra film stars James Stewart as a politically naïve, idealistic young man appointed to fill a U.S. Senate seat. When he tries to stand up to his state’s corrupt political machine, he’s victimized by a smear campaign in which a manipulative newspaper publisher suppresses the truth about Smith’s efforts. The parallels between the 1939 movie’s depiction of political duplicity and the “big lie” behind voter suppression today are unmistakable.
The film’s climax in which Smith unmasks his senatorial mentor’s complicity by a filibuster reading from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution ends too abruptly for me. I wanted to see how the people responded, both to the efforts to counter the smear campaign with the truth, and to the senior senator’s confession that he participated in the corruption that “Mr. Smith” exposed. For me and many others, the loss of our ability to recognize and defend truth rests at the heart of our polarization. It’s not for nothing that Satan is known as “the Father of Lies” in Christian tradition, for whether you believe in personified evil, the demonic force of deception runs rampant in these apocalyptic times in which we live.
Eastertide 2021 offers us a great opportunity to ponder anew the reality that Jesus was crucified by those collaborating with the Roman Empire because he dared proclaim that God is God, not Caesar. Indeed, that may be one of the greatest contributions we can make at this time, to proclaim again that the God who raised Jesus from death is God, not the American Empire that political (and some religious) forces seek to keep in power. It’s a dangerous mission, but one for which we are especially suited if we rely upon Jesus' example.
Multiple states push to limit medical treatment for transgender youths
Disturbing news about health care for transgender youth has come from Public Religion Research Institute:
“PRRI data has consistently shown strong national support for transgender rights. Data from 2019 shows that 62% of Americans said they had become more supportive of the transgender community over the previous five years. Despite this, in recent weeks several states have moved forward with legislation that would make the lives of transgender children more difficult. ‘Three North Carolina Republican lawmakers introduced a bill Monday that would prevent doctors from performing gender confirmation surgery for transgender people younger than 21,’ the Associated Press reports. It would also prevent doctors from providing other treatments, such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy to those under 21. According to the AP, ‘The legislation follows a nationwide trend of GOP-controlled state legislatures looking to limit treatments for transgender adolescents.’”
If this is happening in your state, please be an advocate for transgender teens to receive the medical treatment they need.
Media Mentions as of April 8, 2021
Asian American Christians confront racism and evangelical ‘purity culture’ after Atlanta spa shootings – Los Angeles Times *
Black and Asian Christian leaders discuss role of church in fighting racism – Religion News Service
Arkansas legislators pass ban on transgender medical treatments for youths, overriding governor’s veto – The Washington Post *
America is losing its religion – Axios
Religious freedom must be guaranteed for everyone, everywhere, all the time – The Hill
Tenn. pastors urge lawmakers to reject anti-LGBTQ bills: 'Our calling as Christians is to love our ... – New York Daily News
Freedom From Religion Foundation drops lawsuit after Alabama amends ‘so help me God’ voter oath – AL.com
Biden says seminary COVID-19 vaccine clinic is example of ‘America at its finest’ – Religion News Service
No, the COVID-19 vaccine is not linked to the mark of the beast – but a first-century Roman tyrant probably is – The Conversation
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Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.