Liza Kittle
This post is by Liza Kittle, president of the RENEW Network, a renewal group that “advocates on behalf of evangelical women in the United Methodist Church” and “promotes mission outreach that offers Jesus Christ.” — Ed.
In March, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly thanked the United Methodist Church for helping secure passage of a controversial health-care law that vastly expands the role and power of the federal government, a firestorm of protest erupted among United Methodists. Many were angry that UM leaders had advocated on their behalf in the political arena, especially in regard to legislation opposed by many United Methodists.
Now, some UM leaders are at it again, this time advocating for “comprehensive immigration reform” — a somewhat nebulous term used often in the immigration debate.
Such advocacy was on display at the quadrennial United Methodist Women Assembly, held three weeks ago in St. Louis, Mo. UMW officials and several United Methodist bishops led a May 1 rally and march for immigrant rights. The event (photos) also featured participation by St. Louis-area interfaith leaders and several “community groups.”
UM Bishops Carcaño and Schol led the May 1 march (UMNS photo)
The gathering took on a somewhat defiant tone in the wake of the late-April enactment of an Arizona law aimed at stepped-up border control and stronger enforcement of existing immigration law.
The Arizona legislation (PDF) largely mirrors federal immigration law but authorizes local and state officers to enforce its provisions. The law includes specific provisions aimed at prohibiting “racial profiling” (PDF) in immigration enforcement.
In recent years, Arizona has become ground zero of America’s illegal-immigration battlefield. The state’s citizens and cities have been held hostage to violent crime, drug trafficking, and kidnappings — largely stemming from a lack of enforcement of federal immigration law. Phoenix has become the kidnapping capital of the U.S.
Not surprisingly, a recent Rasmussen poll found that 70% of Arizona voters (including both US.-born citizens and legal immigrants) endorse the new law, known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.
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None of the disturbing facts about Arizona’s immigration crisis was mentioned at the UMW-led rally, nor were there any calls to protect the civil and human rights of Arizona’s law-abiding citizens. Rather, both the U.S. and Arizona governments were lambasted for trying to enforce the legitimately passed immigration laws of a sovereign nation.
The speakers at the rally framed any opposition to illegal immigration as manifestation of “racism,” ignoring the fact that many innocent people are being harmed by crime related to Arizona’s porous border. None of the speakers at the rally seemed to support any means of border control.
| Speakers also ignored the economic strain that a soaring illegal population is placing on medical, educational, and public services for Arizona’s citizens.
Most of the speeches at the UMW-led rally displayed a far-left political ideology that favors both open borders and amnesty for those in the country illegally. This same ideology opposes any detention or deportation for those who break immigration law. |
Speeches by Harriett Olson, Inelda González |
Harriett Jane Olson, deputy general secretary the Women’s Division (the governing body of United Methodist Women), argued that Arizona’s law would lead to a “virtual caste [system]” in the state.
When the combined force of a powerful nation and powerful commercial interests trample on human rights of people without power, people of faith must stand up and speak out….
This is a particularly urgent moment as we witness the signing of a law in Arizona that will criminalize immigrants, leading to virtual caste laws and legalized racial profiling. As people of faith we must proclaim that this is not just!
We follow in the footsteps of our foremothers like Alma Mathews who met young immigrant women on the docks of Ellis Island, providing housing and support as they adjusted to a new country and saved them from sex trafficking.
Immigrant rights are [sic] the racial justice issue of our time. We challenge racial profiling by local and state police, empowered as immigration enforcement officers who in 2008 turned over 45,000 immigrants to federal enforcement and customs agents who turn over immigrants due to racial profiling.
First, it should be noted that when Methodist missionary Alma Mathews welcomed and helped young immigrant women on the docks of Ellis Island, these women were coming to the United States legally.
Further, as reported above, the new Arizona law strictly prohibits racial profiling. Persons can be asked about their immigration status only if apprehended or stopped for questioning in relation to other suspected illegal activity. In such cases, if local or state police find that a person is not a U.S. citizen and doesn’t appear to have a legal resident status, they can turn that person over to federal immigration authorities.
Joining Harriett Olson in speaking at the immigrant-rights rally was Inelda González, national president of United Methodist Women.
My family lives in the border region of Southwest Texas and we are proud to say that we did not cross the border, but the border crossed us. Yet today, we experience the construction of walls and the militarization of the border regions that divides families and peoples who have had roots on both sides of the border for many, many years.
Our broken immigration system is breaking up families and we stand for families. Over the last 10-year period, 100,000 immigrant parents of U.S. citizen children have been detained or deported.
We will continue to challenge violence against immigrant women and the widespread rape of women crossing the border and abuse while in detention and at work. U.S. trade and economic policies that compel millions to migrate in search of livelihoods must also be changed.
It is regrettable that families are sometimes broken apart because of the detention and deportation of unlawfully resident aliens. However, this would not occur if the persons detained had not violated the law by entering the country illegally.
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| Bishop Minerva Carcaño’s speech (video at left) began with greetings and support from the UM Council of Bishops. Bishop Carcaño is the episcopal leader of the Desert Southwest Conference and chairs the United Methodist Task Force on Immigration (PDF).
Other bishops present were Bishop Robert Schnase (Missouri), Bishop John Schol (Baltimore-Washington), and Bishop Jim Dorff (Southwest Texas and Rio Grande). |
Making no distinction between those who enter the country legally and those who do not, Bishop Carcaño said immigrant rights is an issue that stands “at the very core of people of faith.”
She then instructed the crowd to sign postcards calling for a change in enforcement of immigration laws. The bishop said the cards would be hand-delivered to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (the former governor of Arizona).
The May 1 immigrant-rights march in St. Louis
A particularly militant speaker at the rally was Jamala Rogers, founder of the Organization for Black Struggle (OBS), one of community groups that co-sponsored the event along with United Methodist Women.
OBS, according to its website, was founded “to fill a vacuum left by the assaults on the Black Power Movement.”
In her speech, Rogers claimed that some of the measures in the new Arizona law “were due to white backlash at having a black man in the White House.” Her remarks were laced with derogatory comments about the United States and capitalism.
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In addition to chairing the United Methodist Task Force on Immigration, Bishop Carcaño is vice-president of the General Commission on Religion and Race. This church agency is offering $250,000 in grants for ministries related to “assuring the rights of racial ethnic immigrants and refugees.” Between eight and 15 one-year grants of $40,000 each will be awarded.
“These grants will assist church congregations and non-profit organizations in reaching out to those who have suffered the double indignity of being mistreated because they are immigrants, and because they are racial ethnic immigrants,” Bishop Carcaño said in a statement earlier this year.
The 2010 focus for the grants (PDF) is on programs related to the sanctuary movement, which encourages churches to harbor illegal immigrants in their churches, thereby evading arrest by law enforcement officers. Money for this grant program comes from apportionment dollars.
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Top United Methodist leaders have made “comprehensive immigration reform” a priority issue. In May 2009, the Council of Bishops released a statement (PDF) calling on President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress to support reform that would:
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Americans, of course, have varying opinions on what constitutes immigration “reform” and how it should take place. (“Reform,” of course, literally means “to change into an improved form or condition”; legislative history is littered with so-called reforms that have made matters worse.)
Interestingly, among churchgoers the widest difference of opinion on immigration policy appears to be between members and their leaders, not among members themselves.
A December 2009 report (PDF) from the Center for Immigration Studies, based on one of the largest polls on immigration views ever conducted, reveals a wide disparity between the membership and leadership of various religious denominations regarding immigration issues.
Those surveyed included likely voters who identified as Catholic, mainline Protestant (United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church USA, United Church of Christ), “born-again Protestant” (nondenominational, evangelical, Pentecostal), and Jewish (Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism).
The study revealed the following dynamics:
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This study suggests that church leaders’ views on immigration are sharply different from those of the “people in the pew.” (The overwhelmingly negative reaction from United Methodists in the wake of the UMC’s involvement in the health-care bill indicates that UM leadership is out of step on that issue as well.)
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In response to the United Methodist Women immigration rally, as well as bishops’ statements on immigrant rights, many United Methodists have posted comments on the official UM website, UMC.org. A sampling is below:
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| Related articles and information | |
| • | Immigration: A brief analysis | Alan Wisdom, Institute on Religion & Democracy (May 24, 2010) |
| • | UM women at Assembly rally for immigration justice | Robin Russell, United Methodist Reporter (May 10, 2010) |
| • | Bishops urge action on immigration | David Briggs, United Methodist News Service (May 6, 2010) |
| • | March in St. Louis protests Arizona’s immigration crackdown | Leah Thorsen, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (May 2, 2010) |
| • | UMW Assembly theme moves from page to pavement | Elliott Wright, UM General Board of Global Ministries (May 1, 2010) |
| • | Bishop Carcaño joins other faith leaders to oppose Arizona law | United Methodist News Service (April 28, 2010) |
| • | Grants offered by General Commission on Religion and Race to assist immigrants | Faith in Action newsletter, UM General Board of Church and Society (March 29, 2010) |
| • | United Methodist Women joins 200,000 on National Mall for just immigration policies | Carol Barton, United Methodist Women (March 25, 2010) |
| • | UM Immigration Task Force travels to Sonoran Desert | California-Nevada Annual Conference (Feb. 2, 2010) |
| • | Religious leaders vs. members: An examination of contrasting views on immigration (PDF) | Steven A. Camarota, Center for Immigration Studies (December 2009) |
| • | Evangelicals and immigration | Mark Tooley, The American Spectator (Oct. 21, 2009) |
| • | A biblical perspective on immigration policy (PDF) | James R. Edwards Jr., Center for Immigration Studies (September 2009) |
| • | Statement on the U.S. immigration situation (PDF) | Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church (May 8, 2009) |
| • | Statement by 28 bishops of the UMC on news President Obama will take up immigration reform in 2009 (PDF) | news release (April 15, 2009) |
| • | Alma Mathews: Pioneer for immigrants rights (PDF—see pp. 4-5) | NEWS, United Methodist Women (Fall 2008) |
Bottom line: the majority of UMC members disagree with leadership because most higher-up leaders are too liberal.
Conservative churches don’t want them as pastors, so they end up in academia or leadership, where they are totally out of touch with the Bible, church, and reality!
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by people of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.
I know the proponents of the Arizona law say the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listened to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, housing, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and, yes, water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis, men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some comprehend discrimination even though they never experience it in their lives. The majority will understand only after it happens to them.
When I heard Pelosi thank UMC for support on Obamacare, I began researching UMC policy on national issues. I found there is a socialist/Marxist insidious insinuation into the UMC leadership.
The speakers in these videos, lauding themselves as leaders of UMC women, say they represent the 800,000 UMC women. If 70% of Arizonans, and 60% of Americans, support Arizona illegal immigration law as an example of a stand on this issue, then these UMC women leaders are lying about who they represent. They represent the liberal minority that is now called progressive, and really should be recognized as socialism or Marxism.
We are underattack from within. Like many others I thought of leaving UMC (I am only a 4-yr member). However, I think the fight must be carried on within, against this enemy. So I will remain a member and be active in my local church (I am a turstee co-chair and teach adult Sunday School); but, AS OF THIS POST I will not tithe any longer until my local church tells me how much they need for their operation only. I will also support outside missions.
Benito,
You, as many others, propagandize the illegal alien situation to marginalize or minimalize people like me who expect to live in my country quietly and lawfully and not be overrun by unlawful trespassers. In other countries, if so many millions had invaded there would already have been war declared. Here, the Democrats want the illegals to vote and the Republicans want the cheap labor. (They think it’s cheap, but it’s not.)
Now it’s getting close to war — a legal war on illegal immigration. It’s called criminal justice, which applies once a non-citizen comes over my fence.
Do you realize how nice we are being, as it is? This is how it could be: people at immigration rallies could could be detained until each has their ID checked. We don’t do that, do we? Instead, we come up with a law that doesn’t make anyone susceptible to being stopped unless there is a lawful reason not having to do with citizenship status. People can rally, legally, all they want without fear of being stopped.
A sovereign nation has the right and a duty to protect it’s borders.
No one is against legal immigration, nor is anyone advocating racism. To paint the argument as such is dishonest and cowardly.
Joseph Rech,
“All men are created equal!” The founders had it right when attempting to form a perfect union — they also knew that they were not there yet but knew we one day would get there. Lincoln moved us forward as did JFK and LBJ. This Nation was founded by people of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
It is my contention that this Arizona law is not constitutional and will fail when challenged (unless, of course, they keep adding more amendments), pretty funny for this so called perfect law.
As for the undocumented workers, “It’s the economy, stupid.” When the economy is good we say, “Let’s all celebrate Cinco de Mayo, my brothers” — but when the economy is down, “It’s all your fault, you immigrant.” This too will pass. The real problem is the narcos/drug and people smugglers — that’s what the focus should be on.
Benito,
Which law can I willfully and knowingly break? If people coming over our border are allowed to break our country’s laws with impunity, do all American citizens also get to chose which laws to ignore?
The reason this country works as well as it does is that we, the people, have consented to be governed. That means we have consented to obeying those pesky little things called laws.
Your opinion on the constitutionality of the Arizona law is irrelevant. The U.S. Supreme Court is the only entity empowered to determine whether a law is ultimately constitutional or not.
The U.S. has property limits and those limits must be protected.
Citizens are the family of a nation. They are the ones to whom the government owes protection and to whom it is obligated to defend. Among other things, this means enforcing our borders and its laws for legal immigration, while defending us against drug cartels and terrorists who plot to kill us.
Jesus told a Syro-Phoenician woman seeking healing for her daughter, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” He knew his first obligation was to the children of Israel. Government should not to give illegal aliens (not legal “children”) the sustenance that belongs to its “children” (citizens).
It is past time that the silent Methodist took responsibility to re-take our church for Christ. In so many areas we have strayed from Christ’s teaching.
Our pastor is one who denies the parts of Paul’s writings that conflict with her views, such as her willingness to approve homosexuality. We hope to see her go soon!
Illegal immigration is illegal because it is in violation of U.S. laws. Arizona is simply taking action, on its own, to enforce these laws. I applaud them for it. I am disgusted by the liberal do-gooders who do not acknowledge the damage to American society and economy caused by millions of illegal persons who break our laws and use the U.S. as their social welfare system.
I want these people who come from so many countries to be successful and enjoy true freedom within their own countries, but until they decide to value honesty and integrity in government and do something to force their leaders to change, there is no hope from them. I don’t want their acceptance of corruption to come into our society.
If you want compassion then you need to target the “coyotes” who bring over the illegal drugs and people in conditions that are deplorable. Inadequate border enforcement makes this possible.
You do have to ask: why do people want to come to this country in the first place. It’s the opportunity here, it’s the freedom, the economic and personal liberty……it’s the RULE OF LAW that protects these things.
There seems to be a covert desire on the part of the Modern Left, of which Bishop Carcaño is clearly a part, to destroy their own country under the guise of egalitarianism. There appears to be some level of subliminal self-hatred involved.
It’s misguided and dangerous. They will end up destroying the reason people come here. Then I guess they’ll be happy. Which country will they go to next??
As the author of this piece, I would also like to make a comment about one of the responses. The Women’s Division at one time had over a million members. The organization continued to use that number for years until, through RENEW’s research, we challenged that number as highly inflated.
The only official numbers available to the church, since the Women’s Division is its own separate entity, is gleaned from the General Council on Finance and Administration. Every year, each church must report these numbers.
That being said, the current membership of UMW is now around 640,000 — far less than the 800,000 the Women’s Division reports. Their numbers have dropped continually since 1974, at a rate 2 1/2 times greater than the membership numbers of the entire church. Now, less than 15% of the women in the church are in UMW, yet at General Conference, the powerful Division still manages to defeat our legislation calling for supplemental women’s ministry programs.
The political activism of the Women’s Division is the main reason women give when they leave the organization. Thus far, the ideology of the leadership of UMW continues to trump the reality of their decline as they refuse to listen to the heart cries of women in the pews.
We pray that at General Conference 2012, the church will finally realize that in order for the UMC to be fruitful and grow, we must allow the majority of women in the church to pursue their callings outside of the control of the Women’s Division. We pray the time has come.
[Editor's note: Statistics from the United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration show that from 2001-2008, United Methodist Women lost more than one-fifth of its membership (-21%). See years and membership numbers below.]
Source: GCFA
A wealth of information, Liza; thank you for the research and the energy you put into writing it and for the efforts you daily undertake for the kingdom. I appreciate you and your willingness to speak truth and shine God’s light in all that you do.
Thank you, also, for the generous endorsement of Peace for the Journey in the May edition of RENEW’s newsletter. These are good days to be serving alongside you.
peace ~ elaine
Liza,
Thank you for your report and research on United Methodist Women.
This group has many good projects that they can be proud to embrace, but their liberal approach to political issues will continue to deplete their ranks. My wife refuses to join UMW because the organization is so liberal (now socialist).
The state of Arizona has to provide security for its citizens where the federal government has failed so miserably. I hope that Americans who support our laws will plan their vacations in Arizona in support of the state’s brave stand against those who have no respect of our laws. We already have a “comprehensive immigration” policy! Why do we need to have a “new” policy when the federal government has failed to enforce the immigration plan that we already have?
The rank-and-file of United Methodist Women need to stop being silent, misrepresented, and used as a tool of the socialists.