Intercultural Ministry Advisory Committee issues statement

A statement from the Intercultural Ministry Advisory Committee of the Church of the Brethren:

While reflecting upon the tragedy of the German church experience during the 1930s, theologian Martin Niemöller used these words:

“First they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Finally, they came for me and there was no one left to speak out.” (Source for text: Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.britannica.com)

We are living in eerily similar times, and it is our prayer that the Church of Jesus Christ will speak clearly about the dangers around us before it is too late. We are reminded of Paul’s message to Timothy, “for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

In recent years, Donald Trump has spoken ill of Mexicans and violence has been directed against persons who speak Spanish in our homeland. Then he evoked a travel ban against Muslims and more violence against real persons occurred. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese-Americans and other Asians were targeted for abuse and today our Haitian neighbors are under attack after hurtful and false claims were hurled at them.

This is beyond a political concern. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to treat others as we would want them to treat us. The Church of the Brethren desires to be Jesus in the neighborhood. Now is the time to do more than say so. Let us love one another and reject rhetorical violence which leads to the harm, suffering and death of God’s beloved children.

— The Intercultural Ministry Advisory Committee (www.brethren.org/intercultural) includes staff director Founa Badet of the Jesus Lounge Ministry in Florida; Gilbert Romero of Glendora (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; Duane Grady of Rock Run Church of the Brethren in Goshen, Ind.; Don Mitchell of Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren; Joe Vecchio of Restoration Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, Calif.; Felisha Diamond of Eden (N.C.) First Church of the Brethren; Thomas Dowdy of Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren in Los Angeles, Calif.; Dennis Webb of Naperville (Ill.) Church of the Brethren; Samuel and Rebecca Dali of Panther Creek Church of the Brethren in Adel, Iowa; Ilexene Alphonse of Miami (Fla.) Haitian Church of the Brethren; Natasha Beaumont of Mt. Wilson Church of the Brethren in Lebanon, Pa.; Shefali Solanky of Yellow Creek Church of the Brethren in Goshen, Ind.; James Washington of Pleasant View Church of the Brethren in Elida, Ohio; and the following members of the Mission and Ministry Board of the Church of the Brethren as consultants: Barbara Daté, Kayla Alphonse of Miami (Fla.) First Church of the Brethren, Robert Jackson of Lower Miami Church of the Brethren in Dayton, Ohio, and Josiah Ludwick of Harrisburg (Pa.) First Church of the Brethren.

#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship

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