Coronavirus and the UMC

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The World Council of Churches has postponed two of its major meetings from spring to late summer amid concerns over the spread and effects of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. I’ve been keeping tabs on such postponements, especially church-related ones, with an eye toward their possible effect on the 2020 General Conference scheduled May 5-15 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Social media, especially in United Methodist circles, started buzzing late this week with a similar concept: What if, in the midst of its rush to separate, The United Methodist Church has to postpone its unraveling because precautions against coronavirus cause General Conference to be rescheduled or even cancelled? This is no idle question; as of Feb. 28, CDC maps show coronavirus in several regions where the UMC is active and will send delegates to General Conference.

Countries where COVID-19 cases are confirmed and The United Methodist Church is present.

However, against this worrisome backdrop I have another question: What if General Conference gathers just enough delegates to make a quorum in May, and pushes through with a separation plan? Will such a vote carry enough authority to be accepted by the majority of United Methodists around the world?

This, too, is no idle musing, for it corresponds to John Wesley’s avowed practice of “plundering the Egyptians,” i.e., using current events to frame the gospel message. Consider this conclusion about the nature of institutional trust from the New York Times’ newsletter, “The Interpreter,” which this week considered “trust and trustability” in the time of coronavirus.

“The ramifications of … loss of trust could easily be far broader than just public health. When trust in institutions becomes too low, people begin to turn to self-help instead: Those who do not trust the medical establishment eschew mainstream medicines in favor of ineffective or even harmful treatments. Those who do not trust mainstream news sources tune in to peddlers of conspiracy theories on social media. Those who do not trust law enforcement arm themselves or support vigilante violence. All of those measures add to the fear and doubt that spurred them in the first place. And eventually, if the gyre of fear and anger keeps gathering power, it will start to rip the social fabric apart.”**

United Methodism’s social fabric has already unraveled in the decades-long battle over how to interpret scripture regarding homosexual practice (a truly tragic state of affairs especially considering that the word “homosexuality” wasn’t even in biblical translations until 1946). The most hopeful negotiated solution, the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation,” is being torn apart by church leaders who don’t trust those who sat through the negotiations. Even some negotiators themselves have said both publicly and privately that they don’t trust their partners in the discussions – but they came to an agreement, flawed as it is, anyway.

Fear and doubt generate mistrust. Based on the past actions of United Methodist leaders, there are many legitimate reasons for fear and doubt. Even now, such as in the Florida Annual Conference, leaders who should be at minimum counseling patience until GC2020’s outcome are found instead to be taking public steps to form a separate denomination. Members of the Florida Conference cabinet, its executive branch, undermine the institution in their fear and doubt!

These actions – would that they had enough humor in them to be called “shenanigans” or “hijinks” – foretell not a peaceful, orderly separation into new forms of Methodism but a ragged, even violent, splintering, with much faith, hope and love lost to the world.

The best recommendation we see at this point is to “plunder the Egyptians” one more time. Just as it’s urgent to resist the spread of coronavirus by good hygiene, especially frequent hand-washing, it’s also urgent to resist the spread of the virus of mistrust, which requires washing our minds. We’re infected with mistrust while our immune systems are supposed to be built on loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Such love doesn’t require trust, but it does require faith – faith that our response, even when it hurts us personally, gives witness to Jesus’ enduring gospel of love as the way to life. To paraphrase Nobel-winning novelist Gabriel García Márquez, “love in the time of coronavirus” should be our ultimate goal.

** For additional background on trust around the coronavirus response, see Max Fisher’s New York Times articles, “Coronavirus ‘Hits All the Hot Buttons’ for How We Misjudge Risk,” and “Coronavirus Exposes Core Flaws, and Few Strengths, in China’s Governance.”

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