ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
C H R I S T I AN CONVERSATIONS
Reflections on Christian nationalism
Being vehicles of God’s love and grace in a divided world
Location: Zoom (Final gathering in-per- son, January 2025) Register for the study and receive the Zoom link by visiting: https://igrc-reg. brtapp.com/OurHeartsAreStrangleLuke- warmBookStudy Meeting Schedule Oct. 23: Introductions, Community / Covenant Agreements, Setting the Tone Oct. 30: Chapters 1-2 (Introduction and John Wesley and the Institution of Slavery) Nov. 13: Chapters 3-4 (Methodists Struggle with Slavery and From Civil War to the Jim Crow Church) Dec. 4: Chapters 5-6 (Methodists and the Civil Rights Era, Parts One and Two) Dec. 18: Chapters 7-8 (The Contemporary Struggle against White Supremacy, Parts One and Two) January (TBD): Final in-person gathering over lunch at a church, discussing practical steps toward measurable goal Baby Fold's Festival of Trees Nov. 21-23 NORMAL – The Baby Fold's Festival of Trees is central Illinois' premier holiday extravaganza to kick-off the holidays and bless local children Nov. 21-23! At the Interstate Center, 1106 Interstate Drive in Bloomington, you can expect a gorgeous display of Christmas trees, festive wreaths, gingerbread creations, holiday center- pieces and more! Buy your tickets online by visiting: https:// www.festoftrees.org or they may be pur- chased at the Interstate Center. You can also call The Baby Fold at (309) 451-7202. Santa Claus will be on-site every day to delight the children and each will enjoy a take-home holiday craft bag. Stroll through Gingerbread Village and take in the alluring scent of gingerbread and ic- ing from over 100 charming creations! Sip on hot cocoa while admiring an Enchant- ed Forest filled with one of the largest displays of Christmas trees around! Visit the coffee, cookie, and bake shops for a tasty treat! Bring the family out for a delicious meal and live holiday entertainment during our Avanti's Family Night! And don't forget to place your best bids on over 600 hand- crafted holiday decorations in an online auction that blesses local children served by The Baby Fold! Faith in Place offering community grants CHICAGO – Does your church care about climate change? Do you want to improve
the look and feel of your property? Con- sider planting trees with a Faith in Place Tree Canopy and Workforce Community Grant. Faith in Place will distribute 65 to 85 grants, each up to $30,000, to community organizations and Houses of Worship within environmental justice communities across Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. These grants are intended for planting and maintaining trees on their properties over a four-year period. Find out more by visiting: https://www. faithinplace.org/tree-canopy-community- grant NCJ grant process open CHICAGO – The North Central Jurisdic- tion Mission Council has opened its grant procress through Nov. 15. Apply for an NCJ grant by visiting: https:// www.ncjumc.org/mission-council-grant- process-2/ Mission council has decided to not have multi-year grants, only a single year for 2025. The application process is con- tained in only one application and is available for event or ministry grants that will benefit the entire North Central Juris- diction. Application deadline is Nov. 15. Awards will be announced in December. Church and Society Grant Award process open WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Meth- odist Board of Church and Society is accepting applications for the 2024 grant funding cycle. Grants are awarded to #UMC congregations and groups through Peace with Justice, the Ethnic Local Church and Human Relations Day grants. The deadline to submit grant applications is Oct. 31. Read more by visiting: https://www. umcjustice.org/latest/church-and-society- announces-2024-online-grant-award-pro- cess-is-now-open-2782 IGRC Peace with Justice grants SPRINGFIELD – How would you work for justice in your community if you only had the money? Peace with Justice grants are available to IGRC UMC congregations and agencies to begin programs, plan events, and host activities that celebrate the purpose and objectives of the UMC Board of Church and Society, specifically civil and human rights, economic justice, environmental justice, health and wholeness, peace with justice, and women and children. Funding for the IGRC Peace with Justice Grant is generated by the local churches and Annual Conferences from the Peace with Justice offering taken on Peace with Justice Sunday in June which “witnesses to God’s demands for a faithful, just, dis- armed, and secure world.” Visit https://www.igrc.org/peacewithjustice for a Peace with Justice Grant application. Grant applications are reviewed in April, July and October. Email Christina Krost (christina.krost@gmail.com) if you have any questions.
Bishop Kennetha to hold Advent Study online You're invited to Migration, Immigration and Beloved Community
Applications sought from churches, candidates for 2025 Intern Program SPRINGFIELD – Applications are now open for the 2025 IGRC Intern Program. Prospective interns, mentors, and host church representatives are welcome to visit www.igrc.org/interns for all the details and application links. Priority deadline is Jan.15, and the final deadline is March 3. Connecting Neighbors training SPRINGFIELD – A Connecting Neighbors disaster response training is set for Nov. 12 and will take place online from 1 to 5 p.m. Contact Sheron Monroe at smonroe50@ yahoo.com for more information. Questions or additional details can be provided by emailing mission@igrc.org SPRINGFIELD – All societies are being impacted by global migration, which is surging because of oppression, climate change, and conflict. We know that those who choose to move are in search of survival and a better life. Yet, tragically, immigrants in the U.S. are being demonized, causing some to fear for their safety. Join us this Advent for a three-week videoconference study focused on global migration, immigration, and beloved community. We will engage the Bible and our Social Principles as we think and pray about our call to love our neighbors as ourselves. Join Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai and
Preachers' Aid hosting workshop SPRINGFIELD – Golden Bridges, a se- nior moving management agency from Quincy, is partnering with Preachers' Aid Society and Benefit Fund to lead a work- shop, Safe at Home, 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, at the United Methodist Center. There is no cost for the workshop but registration is requested by calling: 1-888- 922-6368, ext. 6. Online Book Study SPRINGFIELD – In this book study, we will explore Our Hearts Were Strangely Luke- warm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy by John Elford. The book study will be fa- cilitated by IGRC Coordinator of Missions and Outreach Curt Franklin. Study Details Time: 7 to 8 p.m. Iowa and Illinois Methodists on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. Central. Register for the Advent Study at: https://us06web.zoom. us/meeting/register/tZUpd-urrzsrHddvJ0W _ A0lwzHCoOAAL43dK We will learn about the Great Migration, the largest internal migration in U.S. history. During the Great Migration, more than six million African Americans moved from the South to northern, midwestern, and western states to escape racial terror and oppression. This study will present that history through poetry by some of our greatest American poets and through the artwork of acclaimed African American artist Jacob Lawrence.
BY BISHOP KENNETHA BIGHAM-TSAI
What is happening? Why? Christian nationalism is on the rise in the United States and has become a political force in our country. But what is it, and why should United Methodists be concerned about its growing influence? Perhaps we should start with what it is not. It is not simply a conservative Christian faith. And though Christian nationalism is ascendent amongst evangelicals, [1] people who identify as evangelical are not automatically Christian nationalists. I grew up in a Baptist Church that was theologically conservative. One of my most meaningful faith experiences, when my heart was “strangely warmed,” happened in an evangelical African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church. At that church, we described ourselves as evangelical because we believed in the outreaching love of Jesus that compelled us to share our faith with others. My faith experience was deeply felt and personal as I came to know Jesus, not just in my head, but in my heart. I wanted to share that love. For me, that was what evangelical meant—sharing the love of Jesus. That is true for many who describe themselves as evangelical. Christian nationalism is something entirely different. It is a political ideology focused on dominance and power. For instance, Christian nationalists believe that the United States, as a nation, has been divinely appointed to bring about God’s plan. This suggests that, in God’s eyes, our nation is privileged above other nations. Christian nationalists also demand that the United States be a distinctly Christian nation, and that Christians dominate our civic and national life. Such a position marginalizes other faith traditions, by suggesting that someone who is Jewish American, for instance, has a marginal place in the life of our nation or that an American who is Muslim cannot love and serve our country as equally as anyone else. Such beliefs tend toward xenophobia, antisemitism, and other forms of exclusion. Indeed, a Public Religion Research Institute study showed that Christian nationalist adherents score higher than the general American public on scales of antisemitism. Christian nationalists also score higher on anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-Black racism scales. [2] Even more problematic, Christian nationalism is taking ever more radicalized and extreme forms, posing significant threats to our democracy and radicalizing people toward violence. Movements such as the “New Apostolic Reformation” and ideologies such as the “Seven Mountains Mandate” are radicalizing people with ever more violent rhetoric. According to The Atlantic, a Christian nationalist speaker, representing the “New Apostolic Reformation,” shouted alarming words to a throng of 2000 people at a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “We are going to prepare for war,” he said. “I’m not on the Earth to be blessed; I’m on the Earth to be armed and dangerous.” [3] Such sentiments are becoming far too common. A 2023 PRRI study found that those who adhere to Christian nationalist beliefs support political violence by a factor of seven times greater than those who reject such beliefs. [4] This is why the recent statement by the United Methodist Council of Bishops speaks so forcefully against such movements. It says, We strongly denounce political violence, which severs community bonds and supplants the rule of law. We equally denounce authoritarianism and secular and
Christian nationalism, which foster centralization and abuse of power, accompanied by racism, xenophobia, tribalism, and misogyny. Nationalism is a political ideology that defies God’s love by pitting the interests of one group of people against others. Christian nationalism demands laws, culture, and public policies be based on a distorted interpretation of the Gospel that elevates power and control over love. These ideologies are in direct contradiction to our Christian faith because our “love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice and the renewal of life in the world,” (Our Doctrinal Heritage, United Methodist Book of Discipline, p. 53). [5] In many ways, Christian nationalism is not Christian as we have come to know our faith, because it stands in direct contradiction to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the example of Christ. In Christian nationalist thought and rhetoric, the cross becomes a weapon of exclusion, rather than a sign of sacrifice. Jesus becomes the leader of an army against “those people” rather than the suffering servant for all. What does Scripture and our United Methodist tradition say? When asked about the very essence of the Christian life, Jesus said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands,” (Matthew 22: 37-40). As United Methodist Christians, we must center love. If it is not loving, then it is not of God. If it is not about building beloved community, then it is not the essential work of the Church. As John Wesley noted in his writings about Christian perfection our aim should be to love. Wesley modeled his ideas about perfect love in 1 Corinthians 13. Such love is not after power or dominance over others. Such love is patient and kind and centers itself in truth, (cf. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7). The Bible also makes clear that gaining power for power’s sake or winning at all costs is not what defines Christian discipleship. When Satan offered Jesus power and dominion, Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan, because it’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him,” (Matthew 4: 10). As disciples of Jesus, we are not called to dominate others. We are called to serve and love God and others as Jesus did. Christian nationalism is the antithesis of Jesus’ life and example. What should we look for? Pay attention to suggestions that the United States is and should be an exclusively Christian nation. This is religious supremacy. It is not the Christian faith. The Gospel calls us to love, not to power and dominion. Pay attention when you hear nationalistic calls to patriotism that suggest that only American Christians can be patriots. Our U.S. Constitution protects freedom of religion for all Americans. Honoring our Constitution and our democratic form of government is one of the most patriotic things we can do. Christian nationalism is a form of authoritarianism that is a threat to religious freedom and our democracy. Be wary of language that frames our current political divisions as a “holy war.” Such language tends to demonize others, including immigrants, LGBTQ people, election workers, government officials,
“elites,” etc. “Holy war” language is often rooted in Old Testament texts that have been misinterpreted in the past to justify atrocities. The use of such language today is often associated with calls for violence. Pay attention when Christianity becomes wedded to a particular political movement and begins to be utilized primarily for the benefit of that movement. Christians should certainly be involved in civic life. However, the melding of Christianity with a political ideology for the sake of political power should concern us. What we can do? Plan Bible Studies. Learn and teach the Bible, especially the Gospels. Find high quality, preferably United Methodist, studies. Study the life of Jesus. Learn about Christian nationalism and efforts to resist it. If you want to learn more, read The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy, by Matthew Taylor. The Episcopal Church also has recently released a resource. It is entitled, The Crisis of Christian Nationalism: Report from the House of Bishops Theology Committee. You can find that resource here. The United Methodist Council of Bishops is developing a resource about authoritarianism, Christian nationalism and political violence that should be out in early 2025. Also, check out this article in Axios about Christian leaders resisting Christian nationalism. Learn about Beloved Community. This term was popularized by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Find resources that highlight King’s work on “Beloved Community” and non-violence. Get involved. Pray for election workers and for our democracy. Find ways to promote and support our democratic institutions. Stand up for democracy and religious liberty. Vote. Meditate on Scripture and pray. Spend the next week meditating on Matthew 4:8-10 or on Philippians 2. Based on these passages, what is God calling you to do? Please pray with me: Loving God, help us to love. Help us to spread love. Help us to be prophetic witnesses to the love that is at the center of the life and witness of our savior Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, Amen. [1] A recent Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) study found a link between Christian nationalist beliefs and evangelical identity. “Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States,” Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), PRRI Staff, 2/28/24, p. 3, 18-20, https:// www.prri.org/research/support-for-christian-nationalism- in-all-50-states/ [2] Public Religion Research Institute, “A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture,” PRRI Staff, 2/28/23, p. 17-21. [3] “The Christian Radicals Are Coming: The movement that fueled January 6 is revving up again,” by Stephanie McCrummen, The Atlantic, 10/1/24, https://www.theatlantic. com/politics/archive/2024/10/eau-claire-tent-revival/680097/ [4] Public Religion Research Institute, “A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture,” PRRI Staff, 2/28/23, p. 27. [5] https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/ umcbishops-denounce-political-violence-18654125
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