Reparations: Not Welcoming the Beloved

Letters to the Editor

by

Editor:

In 2023, a United Methodist Church trial court of found Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño "not guilty of charges" against her. After two years of "suspension" from the beloved community of The United Methodist Church, she was set free to once again attend worship and participate the church's community.

My heart is heavy knowing that for two years she was suspended from the community of faith, which translates in my interpretation to the equivalent of "house arrest."

My heart is heavy, not because of the charges nor because of the trial but with the knowledge that we as a church suspended one of our own members from access to the family of faith.

We as a denomination have used as a motto "open hearts, open minds, open doors," to welcome all persons into our fellowship. My nearly 80 years of life, and 39 years as an appointed clergy, have been encased in the commandment of Jesus "to love God and to love our neighbor as ourself." This suspension violated this commandment.

Bishop Carcaño is more than our neighbor within our connectional system, She is our sister in the faith. Whatever the charges were or whatever race or gender or nationality, a United Methodist is a member of our church family.

As we move ahead to recreate our denomination that has been spread far and wide with disaffiliation of member churches and diverse opinions, it is my conviction that hospitality and welcome of members and strangers is at the heart of our life together as a denomination.

So my heart is heavy that we suspended Bishop Carcaño for two years while she awaited her trial. Reparations by our United Methodist Church in the form of official apology to her is in order. Equally important to this situation is that as we move forward as a United Methodist Church, our welcome with hospitality of the stranger and those with whom we are in opposite or diverse actions is essential in rebuilding and recreating our fractured denomination.

Matthew's Gospel gives us guidance: "I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me ... these will go away into eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:43, 46, Oxford Annotated). The case of Bishop Carcaño is a reminder that no one is to be assigned outside of our beloved community.

The Rev. Dr. Phyllis Tyler (retired), California-Pacific Annual Conference