By Linda Bloom
April 15, 2019 | ATLANTA (UMNS
The pain over the deep divide that has occurred among United Methodists since February’s special General Conference has permeated all parts of the denomination, raising questions about the impact on its mission projects and goals.
That discussion by directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries came April 12, near the end of the shortened board meeting following a long-planned conference at Emory University celebrating 200 years of Methodist mission.
“We can say we are deeply divided and the conflict will not subside,” said New York Area Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton. The challenge to the board’s directors “is not to continue to hurt one another” and to fulfill their role as shepherds of the church’s mission “in the midst of the current realities,” he said.
But the hurt does continue, as Sierra Leone Area Bishop John K. Yambasu, the mission agency’s vice president, made clear in his emotional remarks to fellow directors.
The bitter aftermath of GC2019 — including accusations of voting irregularities — has led Yambasu to question the true commitment to a global church, he said. And he is considering whether the African United Methodists should look at changing to an autonomous, affiliated membership.
“Africans have been abused and misused,” the bishop declared.
Despite coming from a predominantly Muslim background, Yambasu recalled that as a youngster he eagerly embraced what was then the Evangelical United Brethren Church. He took the simple hymn “Jesus Loves the Little Children” as his mantra, attended United Methodist-related schools and yearned for Wednesdays and Sundays, when he could be in worship.
Later, he took pride in the connectional system, and was thrilled by the fact that he could go to any country and just look for the church’s cross and flame logo. “Once I get there, I’m home,” he pointed out.
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That was then. Now, Yambasu said, he feels he is part of a church whose members are not permitted to express their views. “As an African, I find myself thinking, is this the church where I really want to be?”