Dear friends,
The headline isn’t clickbait; it’s a pastoral invitation.
You may have seen recent posts on this blog expressing concern for immigrants and calls to action. Our Church in Society and Missions Committee will soon present recommendations to the Church Council on how we, as United Methodists in Geneva, can best respond to these concerns, including potential policies to guide our collective actions.
On Monday, the day of Epiphany, our Bishop, Dan Schwerin, sent a message to all clergy and church leaders, urging us to read the letter from the UMC’s Council of Bishops during worship this coming Sunday.
In our context, I recognize that more of you engage with our church’s communication more through written word than spoken in a pew. Therefore, in response to Bishop Dan’s request, I invite you to read both his brief note and the Council of Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on the Plight of Migrants, Immigrants, and Refugees. The bishop also made a video of himself reading the letter aloud, if you prefer. I lift these concerns not from a political standpoint, but from a place of shared humanity and compassion for our neighbors, as well as for all of us here at UMCG for whose families and livelihood are imperiled.
Blessings to you all,
