{"id":4633,"date":"2013-07-15T14:11:48","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T21:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=4633"},"modified":"2013-07-15T14:26:29","modified_gmt":"2013-07-15T21:26:29","slug":"reflections-on-what-trayvon-martin-case-means-for-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/reflections-on-what-trayvon-martin-case-means-for-christians\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on what Trayvon Martin case means for Christians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bishop Beverly Shamana (right) greets supporters of slain teen Trayvon Martin at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena on March 25, 2012. A web-only 2012 file photo by Ron Fu, courtesy of The Pasadena Star-News.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

By Kathy Gilbert<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many took to the streets to protest the not-guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, but many also went to their houses of worship to find peace and seek answers.<\/p>\n

Bishop Ken Carter, Episcopal leader of the Florida Annual (regional) Conference, sent a letter to the pastor and people of First United Methodist Church, Sanford, Fla., saying he was praying for peace for them but also\u00a0encouraging the congregation to be a sign of God\u2019s grace and peace in the days ahead<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 26, 2012,\u00a0Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, was shot and killed<\/a>\u00a0by a member of a neighborhood watch in Sanford, Fla. The shooter, George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic, said he shot the teen in self-defense. A jury on July 13 found Zimmerman not guilty after deliberating for more than 15 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a teachable moment, and we dare not waste it,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond the civic conversation, United Methodists are called to reflect on what this means for disciples of Jesus Christ who are called to transform the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pray \u2018we will help guide conversation\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The victims are many and the conversation on race has grown because of this case, said Bishop Minerva Carca\u00f1o, who leads the California-Pacific Annual (regional) Conference and is president of the\u00a0United Methodist\u00a0Commission on Religion and Race<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pray that as persons of Christian faith we will help guide the conversation in thoughtful and prayerful\u00a0ways. The life of a young man has been cut short. His family and closest friends will live with a hole in\u00a0their hearts. A man has taken a life and will live with that burden the rest of his life. Racism, guns,\u00a0violence, and the lack of security plague us all,\u201d\u00a0she said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pastors like the Rev. Doug Cunningham of\u00a0New Day United Methodist Church in\u00a0Bronx, New York, worked into the early morning to refocus his sermon and worship service on the outcome of the racially charged trial.<\/p>\n

On his Facebook page he wrote: \u201cWe can\u2019t preach peace when there is no peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of hurt, and there were a lot of tears,\u201d said Melissa Hinnen, student intern pastor at New Day. Members of New Day participated in a rally and march from Union Square to Times Square Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Not guilty also \u2018not innocent\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

Bishop Mike Coyner, Indiana Annual (regional) Conference, said it is important to remember that being found not guilty is not the same as being found innocent.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge Zimmerman is not innocent of the death of Trayvon. Moreover, our whole culture is not innocent of this sad situation. \u2026 All of us bear some responsibility for creating or allowing a culture of violence, suspicion, racism, crime, and tragedy to exist in our nation. The multiple murders in Indianapolis in recent weeks are a reminder that the Zimmerman case is not unique \u2014 such violence is everywhere, and the problems between whites, Hispanics and African Americans seem to be growing,\u201d\u00a0he said in an E-pistle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kathryn Lohre, president of the National Council of Churches, said that in the wake of the acquittal, people of faith should join in a renewed call for racial justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, we, acknowledged \u2018the tragic reality that exists for young men of color and their families who, because of their appearance, fear they will be victims of violence at the hands of police and others.\u2019 As we seek to honor the memory of Trayvon Martin, we are called to action to protect the lives of all from fear, violence, racism and injustice,\u201d Lohre said.<\/p>\n

Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New England Annual (regional) Conference, also called for peace and a nonviolent spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may take much prayer for God to give this kind of strength to us and to all those who feel deep anger, shock, and betrayal in this time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the face of such oppression, there is a temptation to become disengaged,\u201d said the Rev. Theon Johnson III, co-chair of United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church. \u201cWe as the Church must advance the dialogue. We will move forward from this experience. How we move forward, however, will be determined by our willingness to show up and announce justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. Pamela Lightsey of Boston School of Theology said, \u201cyou can\u2019t lose what you never had\u201d<\/a>\u00a0to the question of whether black Americans have lost faith in the justice system after the acquittal of George Zimmerman.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, to put this question to a grieving family, \u2018Have you lost faith in the justice system?\u2019 demonstrates an ignorance of the tragic history of slavery, civil rights, legal racial profiling and now Stand Your Ground laws. One simply cannot lose what has never been. The more sensitive question should be: What can we all do to ensure a legal system that ensures justice for all citizens and residents in our country?\u201d<\/p>\n

Visible signs of peace<\/b><\/p>\n

Carter said he is encouraging the congregations in the Florida conference to reflect diversity, to question more publicly the \u201cStand Your Ground\u201d law of the state of Florida. In Florida, as in more than 20 other states, a \u201cStand Your Ground\u201d law provides significant leeway for using deadly force if a person feels threatened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am praying for people of The United Methodist Church in Sanford. I am praying that they will be an outward and visible sign of God\u2019s peace, justice, reconciliation and healing in the days ahead. I am praying that they, and we, do not waste this teachable moment. \u201c<\/p>\n

\n

Kathy Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 ornewsdesk@umcom.org.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bishop Beverly Shamana (right) greets supporters of slain teen Trayvon Martin at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena on March 25, 2012. A web-only 2012 file photo by Ron Fu, courtesy of The Pasadena Star-News. By Kathy Gilbert Many took to the streets to protest the not-guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":4634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[32,3],"tags":[156,251,250,31,252],"class_list":{"0":"post-4633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-umns","9":"tag-gun-violence","10":"tag-racism","11":"tag-travon-martin","12":"tag-umns","13":"tag-zimmerman"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/2012BishopShamana_TrayvonSupporters.jpg?fit=480%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-1cJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4633"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4642,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4633\/revisions\/4642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}