Social Justice
The global United Methodist Church and New Covenant continue to learn how we can fight for social justice, which is defined as the concept of fair and just relations between the individual and society. These discrepancies happen through the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity, and social privileges. Some factors need to equalize to achieve social justice: voting rights, health care, income gap, gun violence, hunger & food insecurity, etc.
Bridging Gaps Through Conversation
New Covenant United Methodist Church has hosted a “Bridging Gaps Through Conversation” event in the Fellowship Center for approximately 100 individuals from the local community. The participants were from many different ethnic groups, including Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Haitian, Jamaican, Irish, American Indian, Hawaiian, Asian, and more. The religious backgrounds of the attendees included Methodist, Baptist, Mormon, Catholic, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Jewish, Bahá’í, non-denominational, and non-affiliated with a church. This diverse group of people also included singles, married couples, gay couples, persons with biracial children, a representative from the Wildwood Police Department, retired military, working professionals, retired individuals, Democrats, Republicans, the American Association of University Women’s Diversity Committee, Lady Lake United Methodist Church, Community United Methodist Church, Christ United Methodist Church, and the New Covenant Social Justice Study Group.
Additional events will be scheduled throughout the year to help people become comfortable enough to talk and to get to know each other by asking the questions that most people have difficulty discussing - race, religion and politics.
Changing Hearts Panel Discussions
Changing Hearts Panel Discussion #1:
This panel discussion was organized by the Changing Hearts Initiative to help improve communication and build better relationships with diverse groups of people in the Tri-County area, and to change hearts as referenced in God’s word, Matthew 22: 36-40. The Changing Hearts Initiative was established by the Women’s Prayer Circle to address the issue of racial unrest, hatred and prejudice in the Tri-County area.
Changing Hearts Panel Discussion #2:
This second panel discussion was organized by the Changing Hearts Initiative to address the question, “Where is the Church: In Times Like These?” Panelists discussed the role and responsibilities of the church in addressing social justice issues, and how the church can encourage conversation and unity among diverse groups of people within the church and the community.
John Wesley’s Manifesto
Download John Wesley’s manifesto here.
United Methodist Church Resources
The United Methodist Church has a section on its website dedicated to “Advocating for Justice”. Click the button below to explore all the resources on the website, or click the links below that you would like to learn more about: