Recent News

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. While Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders should be celebrated and treated with dignity and respect every month and every day, we have painful experiences throughout history and this past year that remind us that racism and anti-Asian and Pacific Islander biases are still an issue.

In the United States, these biases have more recently come front and center again as blame for COVID-19 has been placed wrongfully on those who are Asian and an increase in hateful and violent attacks has taken place with “more than 122 incidents of anti-Asian American hate crimes . . . committed in 16 of the country’s most populous cities since 2020, an increase of almost 150% over the previous year,” according to the United Methodist Church website. We note, too, the wide discrepancy in access to vaccinations and how this inequity has led to a huge loss of life in India.

The United Methodist Church asks that all United Methodists read again and live out our own Charter for Racial Justice which states that all persons are of equal value in the sight of God and that racism is a rejection of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Charter also states that our struggle for justice must be based on new attitudes, new understandings, and new relationships and must be reflected in the laws, policies, structures, and practices of both church and state.