Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brought together laity and clergy from across the State of Ohio on Sunday, February 23. Nearly 200 people from the East and West Ohio Conferences of The United Methodist Church gathered at Garfield Memorial UMC in Pepper Pike while others viewed remotely via livestream.
“I am so thankful that you are here. I am so thankful that you are part of The United Methodist movement in Ohio to bring about Beloved Community,” said Will Fenton-Jones, Multicultural Ministries director in both the East and West Ohio Conferences of The United Methodist Church.
Rev. Chip Freed, chief missional strategist and lead teaching pastor at Garfield Memorial opened the service sharing a personal story of finding hope and renewal eight years ago when he was feeling burned out and defeated. On renewal leave in 2017 he visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. He was there one week after the violent and deadly march and protests in Charlottesville, VA had shaken the world. When Freed was at his lowest and crying out to God outside the Motel a beam of sunlight broke through the clouds. The beam pierced the center of the memorial wreath on the second floor of the building that commemorates the spot where King was assassinated and landed at Freed’s feet.
“For me, out of a mountain of despair, just one little ray of light was enough,” he shared. “We hope that tonight is one little ray of light to encourage us to stay in the battle. It’s a good fight, a good fight. So run the race – Paul said he finished it, he didn’t say he came in first – and keep the faith.”
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, resident bishop of the Ohio Episcopal Area, challenged service participants to take action to end injustices and stand against racism.
“It is the Church’s mission, and our mission together, to rise again and heal the broken world and realize God’s great justice together, that is why we are here together,” he said. “The call and hope for the Kingdom of God is more urgent than ever before. We need to feel our heart trembling because injustice, brokenness, discrimination and violence are all over the world. So, it is today that we need to awaken again to the reality of what Dr. King said to us together.”
The keynote speaker for the service was Bishop Julius C. Trimble, general secretary of the General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church. His message was titled, “What Does the Lord Require?”
“Dearly beloved, I have often turned to the Psalms during Black History Month to remind myself that we all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. We didn’t get here by ourselves, and we can’t make it by ourselves,” Trimble said. “Psalm 22 is a passage I like to use to teach from and preach from, a plea for deliverance from suffering and hostility. If you read on through Psalm 22 it’s an invitation to commit our causes to the Lord.”
During his message the general secretary shared that The United Methodist Building that is home to the General Board of Church & Society is the only non-government building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. standing just feet away from the Supreme Court and yards away from the U.S. Capitol. One by one he called out decisions being made in the nation’s capital that are eliminating positions and funding of people, agencies, organizations, and denominations that are transforming lives across the nation and around the world.
“Friends we’re living in some difficult times right now, and justice takes some courage, some prayer-bathed courage and the Bible declares that faith without works is dead,” he said.
“Maybe this is our moment. As followers of God and followers of Christ, maybe we are the leaders that we have been waiting for, for such a time as this,” Trimble said before sharing about those before us who stood up and made a difference: Esther, Ida B. Wells, Shirley Chisholm, James Baldwin, Martin Niemoller, and Nikki Giovanni.
“I know it’s difficult, based on where you’re located to preach the Gospel and address some of these issues of injustice, of loving God and loving neighbor but I’ll tell you what you can preach,” Trimble implored. “Preach the Gospel of Good News of Jesus Christ because if you preach the truth that Jesus proclaimed you won’t help but help people understand that if you love God you’ve got to love your neighbor. You can’t say you love God, whom you have never seen, and hate your neighbor and want to deport your neighbor, who you see every day.”
The bishop then asked those gathered to take out their cell phone, turn on its flashlight, and hold the phone high.
“Let your light shine ‘til the arc of the universe bends toward justice. Let your light shine ‘til no hungry child is left behind. Let your light shine ‘til all the mean folk sweeten up, all the gossiping folk shut up, all the worrying folk look up, all the Christian folk stand up,” Trimble declared. “Let your light shine until nobody is left outside of the Beloved Community. Let your light shine until the wicked cease from troubling ‘til the weary find rest ‘til justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Let your light shine until the Church is edified, until your mission is multiplied, until God is glorified, until your souls are satisfied, until the devil is terrified. Let your light shine!”
He closed the service instructing participants to turn off the phone’s light, open the camera app, and take selfies with those nearest them.
“I want you to take a selfie because all the change that we want to see begins with us,” Trimble said.