Methodist Civil Rights Leaders Address General Conference
Today two United Methodist civil rights leaders addressed the General Conference and tackled the issues of racism and heterosexism.
The Rev. Caldwell is a retired United Methodist Minister who lives in Asbury Park, N.J. He was active in the Massachusetts unit of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and participated in the civil-rights movement throughout the nation. In 2000, he, with others, organized United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church (UMOC), an extension ministry of Reconciling Ministries Network. UMOC is an organization committed to the full inclusion of LGBT people in every aspect of church and society.
During the 1960s, Rev. James Lawson was a leading figure in organizing civil rights campaigns using the principles of nonviolence he had studied under Gandhi. He also worked as a deputy and adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who dubbed Lawson "the leading nonviolence theorist in the world."
The speakers were introduced by the Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist pastor who was defrocked for marrying a lesbian and a gay couple. Mel White, the founder of Soulforce, was also in attendance.
Photos:
Video: Rev. James Lawson
Rev. James Lawson from Reconciling Ministries Network on Vimeo.
Video: Rev. Gilbert Caldwell
Additional Coverage:
Flashnet 2/6/2008: Black History Month: Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell
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Flashnet 2/20/2008: Black History Month: Rev. James Lawson
Click here
Flashnet 2/27/2008: Marriage: Jimmy Creech
Click here
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