Nation of Islam leader preaches Scripture to group of bishops
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Bishop Violet Fisher |
May 4, 2005By Tim Tanton* WASHINGTON
(UMNS)—A group of United Methodist bishops meeting with Nation of Islam
Minister Louis Farrakhan say they received a strong affirmation of
Jesus and set the stage for possible future dialogue. "He preached,"
said Bishop Violet Fisher, who leads the denomination’s New York West
Area. Farrakhan started with Genesis and preached all the way to
Revelation, she said. "The
key to that is our obedience to God and living the word of Jesus
Christ," Fisher said, summing up part of the Muslim cleric’s remarks to
the group. Fisher
arranged the May 3 meeting after learning that Farrakhan and other
Nation of Islam members were gathering at the same Washington hotel as
the United Methodist Council of Bishops. The council is holding its
spring meeting May 1-6 at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Va. A
group of about a dozen bishops, as well as the Rev. Larry Pickens, top
staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity
and Interreligious Concerns, met with Farrakhan and other Nation of
Islam members in a private room in the hotel. The group was not an
official council delegation. The
meeting lasted about an hour and 20 minutes, Pickens said. Most of the
bishops at the meeting were African American or African, the exception
being Bishop Susan Morrison, white, who leads the Albany (N.Y.) Area.
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Bishop Forrest C. Stith |
Bishop Forrest Stith
Now
retired, Bishop Forrest Stith devotes much of his energy to creating an
African American Methodist Heritage Center to recall and preserve the
contributions of African Americans from the inception of Methodism to
the present. His journey in the Central Jurisdiction began in Lincoln,
Neb., where he served a black church in a community with few African
Americans. The congregation had no relationship with either the 30 other
white churches in Lincoln or the 500 others across Nebraska. The
nearest black Methodist church was in Omaha, Neb. The district included
churches in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. The distance between churches
made meetings difficult, and communication was limited or nonexistent,
he said. He remembers the annual conference sessions as a time to talk
of the sacrifice of time, money and talent needed to be the church of
Jesus Christ. When union of the Methodist and Evangelical United
Brethren churches came in 1968, he says, "We brought with us not only a
property or resource gain but also a deep spirit of faithfulness and
love for one another that could not be transcended." A UMNS photo by
Mike DuBose. |
Farrakhan "was so excited to see the African bishops there," Fisher said afterward.Fisher
was impressed by Farrakhan’s "passion for living out the word." "Jesus
to him is very much a part of our everyday life," she said. Farrakhan
noted to them that "Jesus is more than a prophet, which is what
traditional Islam teaches," said Bishop Linda Lee, who leads the
denomination’s Wisconsin Area. "He is the Messiah." Bishop
Forrest Stith said Farrakhan emphasized the Abrahamic origins of
Judaism, Islam and Christianity. He told the United Methodists that they
shared "one faith with many labels" and that those labels shouldn’t
distract them from the one faith, Stith said. As
former ecumenical officer for the Council of Bishops, Bishop Melvin
Talbert told Farrakhan that not only does the church believe in
ecumenism, but through interfaith relations it understands God to be at
work in people of other faiths as well. Regarding
possible dialogue between United Methodists and the Nation of Islam,
Talbert said, "I think he is ready to do that if we are ready to do it." "We
leave the door open for future dialogue," Pickens said. He noted that
directors of the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious
Concerns want to enter into dialogue with Muslims, and he is open to
engaging the Nation of Islam. "I think that can be a significant
conversation." Farrakhan
addressed concerns facing families and discussed issues of power and
oppression in society, focusing particularly on African Americans
because of the impact of power on them, Pickens said. The
Nation of Islam officials were meeting in Washington to plan the 10th
anniversary of the Million Man March, and the bishops were interested in
talking with him about the objectives of that event, Pickens said. The
anniversary will be commemorated as the Millions More Movement, Oct.
14-16, in Washington. Plans were announced May 2 in Washington, and the
event’s Web site lists a diverse coalition of leaders involved,
including Dorothy Height, a United Methodist and president emeritus of
the National Council of Negro Women; Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church; Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP;
the Rev. Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; and the Rev. Al
Sharpton, a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. Farrakhan
later preached for nearly an hour on May 2 at Ebenezer African
Methodist Episcopal Church, according to the AME Church’s online
publication of The Christian Recorder. McKenzie, the first woman elected bishop in the AME Church, also spoke. Though
Farrakhan has been controversial at times, bishops who met with him May
3 described him as positive during their conversation. Speaking
afterward, Pickens stressed the importance of direct contact. "I
think you overcome fear and break down barriers and eradicate
stereotypes by being in contact and conversation," Pickens said. "And
the only way you can begin to address issues of differences or areas of
disagreement is to have conversation." *Tanton is managing editor for United Methodist News Service. News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470.
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