Race Relations

Kimberly Pitcher-Crago (left) and Ellen Hawes present a liturgical dance during a 2002 service of repentance by Foundry United Methodist Church at Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington. In the 19th century, racial discrimination at Foundry led to the formation of Asbury and later John Wesley AME Zion. File photo © Jay Mallin.

To fight racism, 3 churches reckon with past

Discrimination at a prominent D.C. church led two African American congregations to break away in the 1800s. Now the three are reconnecting.

Social Concerns

United Methodist Bishops Bruce R. Ough and LaTrelle Easterling stand in solidarity during the national rally to end racism, a Drumbeat for Justice Silent Walk from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to the National Mall on April 4, 2018. Bishop Easterling is among church leaders in Baltimore urging United Methodists to resist “reactionary responses” to President Donald Trump’s tweets disparaging the city. File photo by Kathy L. Gilbert, UMNS.

Church leaders affirm Baltimore after tweets

Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling and the Rev. Wanda Bynum Duckett speak of city’s complexity, creativity and resilience.

Social Concerns

Ron Blanton plays the Rev. Charles Moore in a re-enactment segment of the new documentary “Man on Fire.” Moore, a retired United Methodist elder, set himself on fire in a suicidal protest of racism in 2014. Film image courtesy of “Man on Fire” film.

PBS film looks at pastor's fatal protest

The 2014 self-immolation of retired United Methodist clergyman Charles Moore, and its effect on his East Texas hometown, is the subject of "Man on Fire."

Social Concerns

Bishops LaTrelle Easterling and Leonard Fairley present a statement that deplores the surge in racism in the U.S. Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe looks on. Photo by the Rev. Maidstone Mulenga, Council of Bishops.

Bishops sound alarm about surge in racism

In the wake of violence targeting minority groups, United Methodist leaders pledge themselves to educate about dangers of white supremacy.

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