Tackling the Crisis of Unity

Crisis Watch Jan. 25, 2021

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A United Methodist Insight Column

Words for this week: unity without uniformity. This concept seems to be uppermost on United Methodists’ minds as we confront continued crises in this first full week of President Joe Biden’s administration. In discussions reminiscent of The United Methodist Church’s years of dispute over social justice issues, especially LGBTQ acceptance, a common theme seems to be a desire for accountability amid efforts toward national unity.

For example, United Methodist clergyman the Rev. Phil Woodson is quoted in a New York Times article published in the Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Press:

“The Rev. Phil Woodson (at right), the associate pastor at First United Methodist Church, who was among the counter-protesters facing down the mob in 2017, said, ‘For as much as Charlottesville may have been the impetus for his presidential campaign, Joe Biden hasn’t been to Charlottesville.’

“’Unity is not uniformity, and unity is not without accountability,’ Woodson said. ‘It’s really hard to be unified with people if you don’t have a common understanding of truth and a common understanding of justice. Otherwise, we’re speaking completely different languages.’

Another United Methodist clergyman, the Rev. Dr. William Schweiker, also took up the idea of common understandings of truth and justice, exemplified in President Biden’s quote of St. Augustine and the inspiring poetry of Amanda Gordon in an article, “We Hold These Truths,” for Sightings newsletter. Dr. Schweiker serves as Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He writes:

“My interest is with the conditions of holding truths as truths, and thus publicly accessible and even publicly adjudicated. Of course, there are ways to ‘hold’ supposed ‘truths’ that renders those claims impervious to criticism, counter-arguments, and thus not open to public validation. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a later and rather ardent Augustinian, insisted … that unless one loves the truth one cannot know it. An ancient idea, actually, the insight is that what can be seen or perceived, what can be believed, what can be lived, is related to the orienting disposition—that is, in Augustinian terminology, the love—that defines one’s life.”

Another regular contributor to United Methodist Insight, the Rev. Jack Shitama, observes: "There are many things that are united without agreeing unanimously. These include families, churches, leadership teams, and (sometimes) even political parties. If everybody had to agree for unity to exist, then unity would only exist in the smallest, most like-minded systems. These would not only be boring, they would likely not be very effective. When there is only one point of view, there is usually a huge blind spot."

Which brings us to the question that has dogged United Methodists for decades: What love defines our life together? For some, the defining love is infallible Scripture that creates order in the church, much as the Apostle Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness….” For others, their defining love is the vision of God’s justice as expressed by Jesus in Luke 4:18, when he read from the scroll of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” (NRSV)*

What both viewpoints seem to overlook is that they equally are based on an overarching “defining love” – devotion to Christian witness and service transmitted through the Holy Bible down through the centuries. Ironically, or perhaps prophetically, this is the same message that President Biden gave in his inaugural speech anchored in his own Christian beliefs – that unity is possible without requiring uniformity.

This week’s reflections on unity mark the beginning of a journey past the mendacity and misinformation of the Trump Administration that both created and exacerbated our crises. Lies as big as boulders block the way forward to unity, spurred on by former President Trump’s own behavior, according to The Washington Post article, "Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year." The falsehoods he unleashed continue to haunt American society, and only our devotion to fact-based narratives can heal the national crisis of truth, the crisis that underlies white supremacy and racism, resistance to public health efforts again the coronavirus, and resistance to the kind of relief that will help families regain economic stability.

Mask up, America!

Once more, we invite United Methodists to join in one of President Biden’s first efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic: stressing the purpose and effectiveness of wearing face coverings in public. Wearing a mask can be one of the most visible ways to show love of one’s neighbor, by shielding others from potential infection.

In addition to wearing masks, let’s keep up physical distancing, hand washing and other sanitizing practices. We’re going through a terrible time now, with more than 450,000 souls lost to COVID-19. Only by our unity in doing all we can to stave off infection will we get beyond it and back to in-person worship and other face-to-face activities in our faith communities.

Religious groups support transgender military service

Public Religion Research Institute reports: “PRRI data from 2020 shows that more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) favor allowing transgender people to serve in the U.S. military, including 31% who strongly favor it. This includes half of Republicans (50%), and 81% of Democrats. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday repealing the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military, a ban that former President Donald Trump had put in effect. According to The Washington Post, “Biden had promised to reverse Trump’s ban as one of the first acts of his presidency. Trump had announced the ban via tweet in 2017, terminating a decision by the Obama administration in 2016 to allow openly transgender people to join the military.” Additional PRRI data shows that transgender military service is favored by nearly all religious groups with white evangelical Protestants (46% approval) being the only outlier.”

Media Mentions as of Jan. 25, 2021

Brookside church's Feed Me Friday weekly food drive helping meet ongoing pandemic needs – Tulsa World

Biden, Harris urged to ‘repair the breach’ in prayer service – The Associated Press

Biden is the first president to openly oppose the death penalty – Slate

After pride flag vandalized, Arlington Heights church holds walk to 'shine light in the community' – Chicago Tribune

The civil religious cleansing of Washington – Religion News Service

At inaugural prayer service, a message of renewal and 'repairing the breach' – Religion News Service

Kamala Harris can show Americans how we share our faiths – Religion News Service

With new executive order, this immigrant is leaving church sanctuary after 3.5 years – Religion News Service

Symbols of white supremacy flew proudly at the Capitol riot – 5 essential reads – Jeff Inglis, The Conversation

White supremacists who stormed US Capitol are only the most visible product of racism – Ursula Moffitt, Northwestern University

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.

*Scripture quotes from the New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, copyright 1989, 1996 by the Christian Education Committee of the National Council of Churches USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.