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By John W. Coleman*

4:00 P.M. EST March 30, 2010 | JACKSONVILLE, Fla. | UMNS

The Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow of Black Methodists for Church Renewal and Erin Hawkins of the Commission on Religion and Race give a report. A UMNS photo by John Coleman.
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The United Methodist Church is “moving backward” in the racial/ethnic make-up of general agency staff, according to the top staff executive of the commission that monitors racial/ethnic inclusiveness.

“If the downward trend of the last 10 years continues for the next 10 years, the racial/ethnic make-up of general agency staff in 2020 will resemble that of 1971,” said Erin Hawkins, head of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.

Hawkins was one of 10 agency chief executives who consulted with directors of Black Methodists for Church Renewal prior to the national caucus’s annual membership meeting, March 24-26 in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow, chairman of the BMCR board, requested the unprecedented meeting to discuss the impact of agency staff reductions since 2000, which reportedly number about 200, nearly half of them comprising racial/ethnic staff.

Complaints

“BMCR was getting letters about recent dismissals of black staff, and we were concerned about what we were seeing,” explained Miller-Yow, a pastor in Little Rock, Ark. He said agency chiefs gave individual reports on their downsizing and restructuring efforts and the impact on their personnel diversity.

“They (agency executives) understood our role, which is to ask questions about policies and actions that can marginalize people of color from participating as leaders of our church,” said Miller-Yow. He described the meeting as beneficial.

Prior to the meeting, the race-monitoring agency and the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women researched racial and gender employment trends. Hawkins shared preliminary findings and promised a detailed report by April 10. She said the full report would be posted on the Web sites of BMCR and the commission. A report will also be sent to staff executives and committees monitoring institutional discrimination.

The Commission on Religion and Race Commission was created in 1968 to monitor and advance the denomination’s racial/ethnic inclusiveness, particularly among the programs and leadership of general agencies and annual (regional) conferences.

“There is a feeling among my colleague general secretaries that we are not doing as well as we should in building inclusive staffs in our agencies,” Hawkins admitted. “This raises serious implications for the work of the church into the future.

The Rev. James Lyles is recognized for having attended all 43 of the caucus's annual meetings since 1967.
A UMNS photo by John Coleman.
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Fix channels

“Serious questions must be asked about how the church can be perceived as making a difference in growing black communities,” Hawkins cautioned, “when blacks and other racial/ethnic persons are participating less and less in the visioning, planning and execution of ministries in these communities.”

The solution is not simply “hiring more people of color,” Hawkins said. “We have to fix the channels by which people come into leadership in the church.”

She called for more efforts to identify, recruit, mentor and retain racial/ethnic leaders. She also said workplaces must become “equitable, fair and welcoming” and void of policies and actions that “create glass ceilings and hostile environments.”

Hawkins cited a lack of black men, especially clergymen, on agency staffs as a particular concern. “We must look at what’s happening in terms of their (lack of) participation in general agency ministry.”

She also promised the commission would continue to study and report on employment trends in general agencies and among annual conferences that have reorganized and downsized their staffs. “We must, in partnership with BMCR and other caucuses of the church, find ways to intervene in the need for greater diversity.”

A member of Aaron's Army, a male mime troupe from St. Mark United Methodist Church in Sumter, S.C., performs under the watchful eyes of his pastor, the Rev. Telley Gadson.
A UMNS photo by John Coleman.
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Lament racist actions

BMCR’s members began their 43rd annual meeting discussing the continuing presence of racism across the nation, most recently evident in attacks on several black U.S. congressional representatives by opponents to national health-care reform legislation.

Several days before Congress voted to reform the nation’s health care laws, protesters spat on Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), a United Methodist clergyman, and used a racial epithet to insult Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of 1960s civil rights movement in the United States.

Some 300 BMCR members expressed a range of emotions from outrage to Christian tolerance. On the final day, they approved a resolution to thank and affirm Cleaver, President Barak Obama and “other courageous leaders of our nation” for working to ensure “adequate, affordable health care for all persons.”

The resolution also “deplores the violence and racism” exhibited by opponents of reform and others.

The three-day caucus meeting, with the theme “Equipping the Saints for Ministry,” featured Bible study, worship and workshops. Topics included tools and tactics for social advocacy, ministries with older adults and youth, marketing church ministries, helping congregations understand and respond to HIV and AIDS, and perspectives on enhancing the relevance of black churches.

The Rev. Jay Williams, 28, a pastor and denominational youth leader, was the banquet speaker, representing a growing emphasis on youth and young adults in the caucus’s programs and annual meetings.

John W. Coleman is a freelance journalist in the Washington D.C area who reports for United Methodist media.

News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5489 or newsdesk@umcom.org.