By Heather Hahn
July 1, 2020 | UM News
Methodism’s founder wanted to minister with Native Americans and abolish slavery.
But decades after John Wesley’s death, a Methodist bishop was a slaveholder and a Methodist clergyman was responsible for one of the worst massacres of Native Americans in U.S. history.
So what went wrong?
United Methodist historians and other leaders led a livestreamed denominational town hall July 1 to explore their church’s complicated and sometimes suppressed record on race.
Their aim: To help United Methodists turn away from past transgressions and join the denomination’s renewed push against the sin of racism.
“A historical perspective gives us a glimpse into how the church chose to respond at critical inflection points in our history,” Erin Hawkins, the town hall’s moderator, told UM News ahead of the gathering.
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