United Methodists of Color (UMOC)

... for a Fully Inclusive Church.


När kommer UMOC etablera sig i Sverige? Gemensam Framtid? Det hoppas jag verkligen! En sådan kyrka vill jag tillhöra. Tack gode Gud för att det här finns!

UMOC was founded in 2000, at a historic gathering of United Methodist people of color. The event was historic because it represented the first gathering across racial and ethnic lines for the purpose of engaging the subject of heterosexism and homophobia in Christianity and the United Methodist Church.
We stand prophetically as a people of color movement in the church, calling the denomination to embrace the multicultural realities of our society and our world. The days of anemic or paltry diversity in the church are over. If the church is to be a vibrant instrument of God's love, faithful to the justice of Jesus, then it must be a place that welcomes all.

UMOC is the progressive, multiracial and multiethnic caucus for true diversity in the United Methodist Church.

UMOC is rooted in the experiences of people of color in the United Methodist church.

UMOC is dedicated to bridging the movements to eradicate all forms of oppression and discrimination in the church.

UMOC is committed to preaching God's Gospel of true liberation in the United Methodist church.

UMOC is committed to creating true diversity in the United Methodist Church.

UMOC stands in the crossroads of the here and now of justice in the church.

UMOC works to build a church that is anti-racist, anti-classist, anti-heterosexist, and anti-colonialist.

UMOC seeks to create ways to build a truly diverse and multicultural denomination for the glory of God and reflecting the wonder of God's creation.

Hemsida United Methodist of Colour: http://www.rmnetwork.org/
Blogg Reconciling Ministries Network: http://www.rmnblog.org/

Manifesto On the Costs of Heterosexism and Racism
UMOC, April 2, 2005

We reject our church and society’s obsession with forcing people into closets by terrorizing them with derogatory labels and dividing their identities into racial/ethnic, and sexual, and spiritual categories in order to stigmatize some parts, and honor others.

We reject the treatment of people of color as objects needed to fill “diversity” slots and assuage guilt, or as educational tools to be probed and dissected.

We reject the requirement for people of color, especially queer people of color to choose between two communities, deciding which is the lesser evil either homophobia in one community or white racism (and homophobia) in another, selecting the parts of themselves that will be acceptable to the majority.

We must reject these attitudes and behaviors because they falsify the gospel and teach all of us the idolatrous practice of worshipping heterosexuality and white privilege, draining the church of integrity and effectiveness in its outreach and mission to the world.

These attitudes and behaviors lock communities of color into patterns of hypocrisy, denial, and oppressive acts against their own lgbt members.

They are destructive of our spiritual and emotional wholeness, and of the rich and creative contributions we have to offer.

Therefore, we prayerfully call upon our white allies and straight allies across all communities to continue to stand with us even when it means risking their status, privilege, and ordination, and to explore for themselves their responses to the question: “what can I do?”

We prayerfully call upon Bishops and District Superintendents to keep their promises and commitments to serve those of us in the church who are vulnerable and stigmatized because of our race/ethnicity and/or sexual orientation.

We prayerfully call upon the varied UM communities of Color to get out of the shallow waters of superficial unity that conceal injustice and spiritual wounding of their own lgbt members; to resist the efforts to divide and conquer our communities by representatives of the dominant power groups in church and society.

We prayerfully call upon ourselves to step forward, acknowledging our fearfulness yet holding fast to our faith in God to resist in every way and every place the painful, exhausting, and interwoven evils of homophobia and racism.

UMOC Manifesto (2005), pdf: UMOC Manifesto (2005)

UMOC Statement from Lake Junaluska, NC (2005), pdf: Final Statement Junaluska (2005)

THE STOREHOUSES OF GOD´S JUSTICE DO NOT RUN LOW.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?