All Americans are in debt---to the Lord, pastor says
Apr. 3, 2006
NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Denise Johnson Stovall*
DALLAS (UMNS)-Debt is something all African-American United Methodists have in common, says a United Methodist pastor and politician.
Black Methodists are "indebted" for the vision of Black Methodists for Church Renewal, said the Rev. Emmanuel Cleaver III, senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church, Kansas City, Mo., in a keynote address to at least 1,000 people during the banquet of the 39th annual meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal. The meeting took place March 21-25 in Dallas.
Cleaver said he had just entered the ordained ministry after the organization was founded in 1967 when he learned, "the founders knew what their mission was within the Methodist Church. It was about renewal.
"Who knows? We might be the people who God placed here to bring about 'renewal' to the United States," Cleaver said. "The founders never forgot that 'the earth is the Lord's and the fullness there of....' They knew who we owe. Nobody walking this earth has the right to walk around and not praise the Lord!"
"The founders of BMCR taught us to be grateful for what we had," continued Cleaver, who is also a U.S. Representative for the Fifth Congressional District in Missouri. "They reminded us that no matter what we might have achieved, we didn't do it on our own. That's because everyone owes somebody or something for supplying them with what they presently hold dear."
The caucus' quadrennial theme is, "If We Build It, They Will Come." The focus for the 2006 meeting was "Pathways to Faithful Leadership."
"I am convinced that if we show appreciation to God, God will bless us," said Cleaver. He and the congregation of St. James United Methodist Church have withstood the test of time in the United Methodist Church. Cleaver began his political career as a city councilman in Kansas City and made history by becoming the city's first African-American mayor.
Turning to the state of the nation, Cleaver insisted that the United States is "drowning in debt. . . Your portion of the federal debt tonight is $40,000. It's like running up a credit card and leaving it for your children to pay off!" His remark drew an echo of "I know that's right!" from the audience.
In explaining how the nation can get out of debt, he said, "We've got to get out of Iraq. It has been estimated that the war in Iraq will cost us $1 trillion.
"That amount of money can assist Americans who don't have health insurance," Cleaver added, to shouts of, "Preach preacher, preach."
"Eighty-seven percent Iraqis want us out...They don't want us there. Friends, this war is on the verge of being sinful," he said. "Especially since we provided places for Iraqis to vote. When they had their election, the [U.S.] government set up polling places all over Iraq, but where are the polls in New Orleans? New Orleans residents are trying to be allowed to vote!"
Again, Cleaver said Americans can never say they aren't in debt.
"Most African-American baby-boomers can recall how mama and daddy had to sacrifice to get them in school," he said, as the listeners nodded in agreement, "or how grand mama and auntie sent you $5 bills here and there to keep you there.
"Our African-American forefathers and foremothers understood that 'the earth is the Lord's and fullness there of.'
During the gathering, the body received copies of Central Jurisdiction Recovery Project: Preserving Our Past . . . Building Our Future, a recent publication of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race about the creation and dismantling of the Central Jurisdiction.
According to the Rev. Chester Jones, the top executive of the commission, the book witnesses to the African-Americans who stayed with the church during the period of legal segregation between 1939 and 1968 and will help African-Americans continue their journey toward inclusiveness in the United Methodist Church. The book, he said, "will help us faithfully reflect on our past history as we journey toward a new and better future."
The book may be ordered from the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race by calling (202) 547-2271.
Two special awards also were given for dedicated service to African-American United Methodists. The David L. White Laity Award was presented to Delores Hartman Casey of Indianapolis. The award honors David White, a former staff member of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship who trained and encouraged lay people for several decades.
The Harry Hoosier Award recipient was presented to Bishop James S. Thomas of Atlanta. The award is named for one of the first African-American preachers in American Methodist history.
Fondly known as "Black Harry," Hoosier was the first Methodist missionary to the Native Americans and spread gospel throughout the colonies.
*Stovall is a free lance writer based in Dallas.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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