Love One Another
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January 28, 2023
We’re angry. We’re angry and oh, so sad, for the family of Tyre Nichols. We’re angry after a recent wave of mass shootings from California to Iowa.
We’re angry about misinformation being spread around the decisions of some to separate from – or to stay with – The United Methodist Church.
I get it. I feel my blood boil sometimes at what I hear or, worse, read on social media. Some of what’s happening is just going to be ugly and hurtful, no matter what. There’s a lot I would like to say publicly or to individuals. But then I ask myself, “How would this help anything? What can I do that would actually help?”
Every time, if I am obedient, it comes down to sharing the Good News of our faith through my Holston communications job and pushing even harder to feed and love people in my personal ministry at Norwood United Methodist Church.
That doesn’t mean ignoring what’s happening around us. We shouldn’t tolerate slaughter in our communities, and we shouldn't pretend that our church (and the people in it) are not in desperate need of healing and reform. We need to struggle with how to achieve that in a way that would please God.
Annette Spence serves as Editor of The Call, the weekly news journal of the Holston Annual Conference (East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and North Georgia along the valley of the Holston River). This post is adapted from the introduction to the Jan. 28 issue of The Call newsletter and reprinted by permission. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please contact the author.