WMJM President Witnesses and Reflects on UM Africa Forum

The United Methodist Africa Forum (UMAF) held their first in-person meeting last month in Johannesburg, and I was fortunate to be invited to attend as an observer.

The members of the group came from most of the annual conferences in Africa. Many of those who attended were meeting each other for the first time. They were clergy and lay people with different language and culture backgrounds, although they were all good at conversations in English, and there were a variety of theological viewpoints. What united them was the desire to remain in the United Methodist Church. “We were, we are, and we will be United Methodist” was a reoccurring refrain throughout the meeting.

Bishop Mande Muyombo gave a rousing keynote address. He urged everyone to work against any proposals for splitting the UMC. He urged that opposing sides of the major issues in the 2024 General Conference should not try to change each other, but should focus on mission, including evangelism and alleviating poverty. He warned that biblical arguments should not rely only on literal text, but should also use reason, experience, and tradition to arrive at theologically sound positions.

The discussions and presentations varied from pension plan basics to making the church in Africa self-sustaining to regionalization to struggling with a position on homosexuality. In the end, there was agreement on a series of resolutions that further define who the UMAF is. The statements include support for the African bishops and the unity of the UMC, support for regionalization, and support for the position that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching and African cultural values.

The Americans who were invited were welcomed enthusiastically. We were asked to listen rather than speak in the formal meetings, but we were involved in many and varied conversations during breaks and meal times. The statement on homosexuality was a painful for me, but it fell far short of the ugly “all gay people are going straight to hell” rhetoric that we have heard at general conferences. I was open with people about who I am, and no one seemed to think less of me. After listening to several people after the vote, I came away more encouraged than discouraged. Change is coming. It will take time. It will take much less time if we stay in relationship with each other across cultures.

After two days of intense meetings, Sunday was a welcome day of worship in local churches, relaxation, and more conversation. Some groups went shopping, and some visited the Apartheid Museum, a visit far shorter than the museum deserved.

On Monday, I sat in with the Christmas Covenant team, also meeting in person for the first time. They shared updates with each other and talked about what is needed to ensure the success of the legislation at General Conference and in ratification votes at the annual conferences. My main concern coming from that meeting is that there is not an organized effort in the US, other than in the Western Jurisdiction. Strong US support is vital to the overall passage of the legislation and ratification of the constitutional amendments. Western Methodist Justice Movement cannot do that organizing in the rest of the country, but we are ready to help and encourage in any way we can.

You can learn about the UM Africa Forum in the words of their own writers at their website.