Small Groups and Seminars

Troubled Times: Putting Faith into Action 

Many of us have been appalled to hear Jesus’s message of love and grace distorted by Christian Nationalists who falsely use the Gospel to divide us and demonize our brothers and sisters. We feel called to follow the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 when he tells us to care for the stranger, the hungry, the prisoner, and the poor – “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” As a response to these words, we held a Fall Seminar Series to help us put our faith into action.

As we approach the state elections in November, we are concerned with efforts to disenfranchise many voters. In recent years, the US Supreme Court has taken away provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that defended racial minorities from the use of discriminatory maps. The passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act was a high-water mark in the struggle for racial equality in the US. To achieve this victory and affirm the promise of this nation, nonviolent protesters faced physical abuse and murder, were unjustly prosecuted, and served as witnesses to the cost of a true democracy. Any attack on the right to vote diminishes the continuing struggle for a more representative democracy. At the Spring United Methodists Council of Bishops meeting, the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race and the Board of Church and Society denounced the ruling. Indiana Bishop Tracy S. Malone stated, “In light of these times that we are in that are marked by profound geopolitical upheaval and growing threats to democracy and in continuity with the work we began in becoming beloved community, this is a critical moment.”  Bishop LaTrelle M. Easterling, episcopal servant and leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference stated, “Love cannot remain silent in the face of suffering, injustice or dehumanization. A Gospel that does not move our feet has not reached our hearts.”

Our Fall Seminar Series was a response to this challenge to us as citizens and as followers of Jesus. The presentations focused on the Voting Rights Act history, court decisions, and how it affected our fellow citizens.

Session Recordings

• Click here to view the Christian Nationalism series and workshops held earlier this year.
• Click here to view the September 13th session recording featuring Prof. Gene Nichol of the UNC School of Law, speaking on the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• Click here to view the September 20th session recording featuring Rev. Donnie Jones of Amity UMC and Wes Wallace, M.D. of University UMC on voting rights, the emotional impact on marginalized communities, and ways to increase voter participation.
• Click here to view the September 27th session recording featuring representatives from the LGBTQ community, TABLE, and NC Interfaith Council for Social Services discussing ways to support others in these troubled times.