By Sybil Davidson (North Georgia Conference)
LAKE JUNALUSKA, NC—In the Wednesday afternoon session, delegates to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference received the report of the Racial Bias Task Force and began important conversations. Presiding Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, of the Virginia Conference, called the session to order.
To begin, Jennifer Davis, of the Western North Carolina Conference and assistant secretary for monitoring, guided delegates through a self-monitoring evaluation.
Then, Bishop Haupert-Johnson called on the first of the two key reports before the delegates this afternoon.
Report of the Task Force on Racial Bias
The Task Force on Racial Bias presented its report and recommendations. Bringing the report were the Rev. Lindsey Baynham Freeman (co-convener) from the Virginia Conference, Molly McEntire (co-convener) from the Florida Conference, the Rev. Dr. Yvette Massey of the North Georgia Conference, the Rev. Ken Nelson of the South Carolina Conference, the Rev. Lisa Yebuah of North Carolina Conference, the Rev. Darryl Dayson of the Western North Carolina Conference, and Rev. Emily Kincade of the Alabama-West Florida Conference.
Nelson opened the report reminding the delegates why we’re engaged in this conversation.
The 2022 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference called for the establishment of a task force to study the impact of racial bias during selection of episcopal candidates and to recommend to the Committee on Episcopacy potential reforms to the process.
“Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it,” said Nelson. “Racial segregation has been a part of the Methodist Church since its inception. All are not valued the same and therefore are not treated the same. We have too often been on the wrong side of history.”
Among the most painful parts of our church’s history is the establishment of the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction.
But, Nelson offered, “We can do what the people of God do best – we can confess.”
“Racism exists in systems and in people,” he explained. “Dismantling racism is the unfinished work of the church. If we can confess, we can repent. And if we can repent, we can be forgiven, reconcile, and move toward sanctification. Let us pause at confession until our hearts break like God’s heart breaks. We have a triune God on our side.”
The task force began meeting soon after the 2022 SEJ Conference. Their conversations were fruitful, challenging, convicting, hopeful and cultivated even more questions. The members worked for more than a year before presenting their report to the Committee on Episcopacy in early 2024.
Baynham Freeman shared the findings.
“This was holy work to undertake with strangers and new friends,” she said, thanking the task force members for their willingness to serve. “We will share with you our major findings. Please receive them with grace, and remember we do this work together.”
She began with positive findings. For instance, several candidates interviewed made a covenant to walk through the process together in 2022. Caucus endorsements have allowed for a greater diversity of candidates. And overall, the process has become more uniform, setting the expectation for a fair and discerning election.
The areas of concern include the lack of follow-up once a candidate had withdrawn from the process, a need for greater transparency and honesty across conferences, and the painful revelation that persons of color felt pitted against one another.
The work continues into phase two following this week’s Jurisdictional Conference.
Massey, Dayson, and Kincade offered direction for the next steps that will bridge the time between the every-four-year rhythm of jurisdictional conferences.
The task force will work to identify training for the delegates to take back to their annual conferences. They are developing a lexicon to use to assess racial bias. And they continue to look back over the past 30 years for insight into trends that have shaped our leadership.
The task force asks that you share your questions to help shape this ongoing work.
The members of the Racial Bias Task Force are the Rev. Lindsey Baynham Freeman (co-convener) from the Virginia Conference, Molly McEntire (co-convener) from the Florida Conference, the Rev. Dan Kim of the Virginia Conference, the Rev. Dr. Yvette Massey of the North Georgia Conference, Jan Brown-Thompson of the Kentucky Conference, and the Rev. Lisa Yebuah of the North Carolina Conference.
At the conclusion of and adoption of the report, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Austin of the Florida Annual Conference asked for a moment of personal privilege.
She shared firsthand the pain she and others experienced in the episcopal election process in 2022. People are more than a report, she emphasized. She called the names of the six episcopal candidates of color in 2022: Ken Nelson, Sharon Austin, Byron Thomas, Edith Gleaves, Iosmar Alvarez, Sharon Bowers.
Bishop Haupert-Johnson called on the conference to pause for a moment of deep prayer and reflection.
3 Practices for Crossing the Difference Divide
The task force report and the moment of personal privilege gave increased purpose to the keynote address on the “3 Practices for Crossing the Difference Divide,” by Jim Henderson and Jim Hancock.
Claire Bowen and the Rev. Nathan Malone formally introduced this transformative tool to the delegates before they put it into practice in breakout sessions this afternoon.
The 3 Practices are:
- I will be unusually interested in others.
- I’ll stay in the room with differences.
- I’ll stop comparing my best with your worst.
The process includes clear guidelines for discussion, all moderated by a referee—an impartial moderator. The goal is not agreement but clarity.
The delegates were dismissed from the session into small groups to participate in the 3 Practices process.
The delegates considered framing questions based on the afternoon’s reports. The questions included: “How can our Jurisdiction prepare and develop our next leaders by intentionally providing inclusion for all?” and “Which recommendations from the task force are most critical?”
On Thursday, Bowen will present with Celeste Eubanks, director of the newly formed Candler Center for Christian Leadership, where she and Bowen oversee processes helpful to UMC pastors and leaders. The focus will be on how to implement the 3 Practices in our churches and communities.
###