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A Plea Against Hatred
Many anti-Trump protesters gather at Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida, USA, on June 14, 2025, to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump for his anti-immigration policies, authoritarianism, and his military parade on his birthday, according to the protesters. They hold banners and stickers to emphasize their protest amid a few pro-Trump protesters. The protest was peaceful at the time of this coverage, with the presence of City of Miami police officers on foot and in helicopters. (Photo by Niyi Fote/Thenews2/NurPhoto via AP)
Special to United Methodist Insight | June 16, 2025
Here goes. The few friends I might offend with this *truth* are less important than the nation I hope my daughters and granddaughters continue to live in. I am on the side of life and not death. So, naming it:
+ The police this week became the secret police in L.A.
+ The military turned on our own citizens.
+ The sad reality of the assassination of Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman, scout volunteer and Sunday school teacher, was, and this is not easy for me to say: I was not surprised that the killer a) had attended MAGA rallies and b) was active in an evangelical church. If this proves not to be the case I will retract this.
+ Dehumanization, Violence and Jesus is a toxic mix.
+ There is no bi-partisan response from government to this, no humane or meaningful response from elite institutions such as corporations, universities and law firms.
+ Massive, mult-million-person non-violent gatherings of public witness were held across the nation on Saturday. This is healthy and is protected in our *constitution*: freedom of speech, the right to assemble (first amendment).
+ If this is the administration of your dreams, write about it on your own FB page and I will learn from you. I have blindspots. And if Jesus is relevant to any of this, begin with the beatitudes (Matthew 5).
+ The way of the cross is non-violence, peace and the beloved community.
+ Lastly, my inner work is to be less violent, more peaceful and more committed to the beloved community, even when I might prefer to detach and go it alone. I have work to do.
+ So if you have read this far — red or blue, people of faith or no faith, young or old—let’s pivot from this ugly moment in the United States. We must name the reality in order to be clear about how we live in an alternative way—do not be conformed by the world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds (Romans 12:2).
+ All appearances to the contrary, let there be peace on earth. Let it begin with me.
Bishop Kenneth H. Carter Jr. is the resident episcopal leader of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. This article is republished with permission from his Facebook page.