wfn.org | Commentary: African Americans can share lessons on oneness

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 14, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71BP{535}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell is
available.

A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell*

One of the most moving moments following the disturbing devastation of Sept.
11 was a brief television story of schoolchildren in a small Georgia town.
The children had written letters to President Bush and to the rescue workers
who had risked life and limb to save others and then recover the bodies of
those killed at the World Trade Center. With flags waving, the children
marched to the post office to mail their letters. I am sure many of us who
saw their child-like seriousness were deeply touched.

The children symbolize what seems to be a growing spirit of unity in the
United States. They also show that every segment of our society has a
message to share about unity and life in the wake of the horror and death of
Sept. 11. 

In that spirit, I'd like to share my perspective as an African American and
a fourth-generation Methodist who served in active ministry for 45 years.
African Americans have much to teach our church and nation about unity and
endurance in the face of violence. 

When I look at the church today, I see a denomination of rich diversity. We
disagree on some issues, but because of the possibilities of this new
century and the emotions evoked by Sept. 11, we will hopefully discover a
unity that does not require a superficial uniformity. Our new sense of
oneness creates opportunity and an obligation to reach into our distinctive
journeys and share our "learnings" to encourage and strengthen others.
 
Vernon Jordan, nationally known for his involvement in the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People and civil rights activity
-- and more recently for his friendship with former President Bill Clinton
-- has published a memoir titled Vernon Can Read. He wrote that "black
people have done wonderful things for this country (saved its soul, in
fact), and we have been an example to the world in the process."

In a church address after Sept. 11, he proclaimed: "Now that America is
warring on terrorism, it is black people who can remind America that we know
it well. ... We remember four little girls killed in the bombing of a
Birmingham church. We know that dangerous rhetoric can lead to acts of
lunacy that kill innocents."

The descendants of John Wesley are blessed to have within the Methodist
family people who are willing and who want to share the lessons derived from
the contradictions of our African-American experience. We have known anger,
but we have responded with nonviolence. We have fought in every one of our
nation's wars, sometimes fighting to preserve a "democracy" that we have not
yet experienced. We have had an unswerving belief in the national ideal,
achieved and promised. Please, in this national emergency, hear us and do
not ignore us!

"Why do the hate us?" is the question being asked across the nation. There
have been times when African Americans have experienced second-class status
and appeared "invisible." We've asked that same question, but we have not
allowed hate to make us hate. We have avoided stereotyping people, even
though some of our fellow Americans have denied through words and actions
our God-given humanity.

All of us in United Methodism ought to have learned the folly of saying "all
of them are like the most negative of them." We value the God-given gift
that is in each of God's children. Those who violate that gift through their
words and deeds do not represent the religion, race, nationality or class
that is theirs. Rather, through their harmful actions, they violate the
sanctity of all humanity and must not expect to go unpunished, regardless of
the legitimacy of their claims.

A serious, authentic religious faith that is deeply internalized allows all
of us to withstand the pain, anger and lust for revenge that all humans
sometimes experience. We Christians who are United Methodists are not
ashamed of our nation or the flag that symbolizes its greatness. We fail our
faith and our country when we allow our flag or the patriotism it represents
to obscure or compete with the cross of our faith - the cross that is the
sign of our liberation, salvation and freedom in Jesus Christ.

When African Americans sing the anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing," we
remember our difficult journey as a people, particularly in one verse: "We
have come over a way that with tears has been watered." Since Sept. 11, our
nation has shed tears that we could never have anticipated. But within our
nation and our church, there are those who know a history of tears. May we
learn in new ways from one another that "nothing shall separate us from the
love that God has revealed in Jesus Christ."
# # #
*Caldwell is a retired pastor living in Denver, and he is chairman of United
Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.

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United Methodist News Service
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