Meet Luky Cotto and other missionaries supported by our conference The Eastern PA Conference has one UMC Board of Global Ministries missionary working here; and we can get to know her better through a virtual visit with her on Thursday, …
‘Fight for Floyd’ groups seek remedies to racial injustice
By John Coleman Nearly 300 participants joined an Eastern PA Conference video-conference on Zoom June 1 seeking ways to “Fight for Floyd,” following the brutal, racist killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police just a week earlier on May 25. …
CONAM provides liturgy to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day Oct. 11
The Eastern PA Conference Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM) submitted a resolution asking the 2020 Annual Conference to call upon churches to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day annually in October in place of the traditional Columbus Day as an act …
Whites Confronting Racism
Anti-racism education arouses new awareness, action By John W. Coleman I considered myself fairly aware before joining Whites Confronting Racism, but the breadth and depth of what I learned was pretty amazing. Among the things I was struck by was …
UMC offers 2 ‘Dismantling Racism’ town halls in August
Two new interactive town hall discussions are planned as part of the UMC’s new “Dismantling Racism: Pressing on to Freedom” initiative on Wednesday, August 19, at 1 PM. The town hall series of webinars on anti-racism explores both old and new approaches to organizing …
Korean peninsula and ‘Amazing Grace with Peace’
A Korean-American teenager hopes she and others like her can help transform Korea’s demilitarized zone into a peace zone, so that elders like her grandfather can reunite with the families they left behind. Read more…
Reactions to three triumphs for Native American rights, respect
Leaders of the Eastern PA Conference Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM) commented on three recent historic actions favorable to Native American justice concerns…
More readers are reading about race, especially children
By John W. Coleman More and more people—especially White people—are reading about race and racism. Some popular books—like Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist—are sold out and being back-ordered. More books on the topic are being published and purchased, …
Racial groups speak out against racist oppression, violence
Three racial groups in the Eastern PA Conference have released anti-racism advocacy statements calling for an end to systemic oppression and violence against Black U.S. citizens, especially by police officers. The statements—by Philadelphia Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR), the Latino Commission and the Whites …
Latino Commission Letter to BMCR Familia en Cristo
The Latino Commission’s June 17 letter laments “the tragic and senseless murders” of the most recent victims of racial violence against Black citizens. Their letter names “our brothers George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, our sister Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks,” citing “the reality …