But It’s Not Enough
On Saturday, January 25th, Bishop Thomas Bickerton wrote a letter about the current state of our country and the deaths of Renee Macklin Good (37) and Alex Pretti (37). If you did not read it, here is the link. It is not long, but it is very meaningful. He does not take sides or tell us what to do, but he does make suggestions on how each of us can make a difference if we “band together as one body, bound in purpose, conviction, and love to make the difference we can make.”
Bishop Bickerton begins with the following:
“My heart is heavy tonight, as it should be, that family members have lost loved ones and lives have been ended prematurely. My heart is heavy tonight, as it should be, because these two fatal shootings should have never happened.”
“But the heaviness in my heart tonight is more grievous because, in all likelihood, in just a few days or weeks, there will be another name on this list. And then another. And another.”
“Should I write a letter every time this happens? Perhaps I should. But letters penned from the comfort of my home seem all too shallow and ineffective. The words quickly fade as the stories of unjust and unnecessary acts of violence continue all around us. There must be something more.”
Here are some highlights of his message:
1. Some of us are protestors. Some of you do it well…. We must bring the core values of who we are as United Methodist Christians, finding ways, clear and intentional ways, to protest in love…. If you protest, do it the right way and consider doing it now. But it’s not enough.
2. Some of us are providers. Some of you do it well…. Every church has some capacity to collect food, cook food, deliver food, take a child to school, check on a neighbor, and make a difference…. If you are a provider, provide, and consider doing it now. But it’s not enough.
3. Some of us are community organizers. Some of you do it well…. The need is glaring in some settings, more subdued in others, but it is present everywhere…. If you are a community organizer, organize, and consider doing it now. But it’s not enough.
4. Some of us are pray-ers. Some of you do it well…. If your gift is praying, it is time for you to pray, intentionally pray, and consider doing it now. But it’s not enough.
Bishop Bickerton went on to say, “All of us are residents of the United States of America. Those of you that are happy with the current state of affairs will not appreciate this letter. Perhaps you have already stopped reading it…. But for those of you who are not happy with the way things are going, it is time for us to do something that is of critical importance.”
He concluded with the following, pulling from both the Constitution and the Bible:
“But together we might just stand a chance to recreate a ‘more perfect union’ that, as the founders of our country wrote, ‘would establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.’”
“That’s not unlike what Jesus himself prayed, ‘The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’” (John 17:22-33)
-Eileen Brogan