| Methodist inspect 'fruit' of church's repentance for racism By Linda Green United Methodist News Service  Three years have passed since The United Methodist Church apologized for the sin of racism and sought to reconcile with African-American Methodist denominations that formed during the 18th and 19th centuries.
During that repentance service at the 2000 General Conference, United Methodists were warned that the fruits of their repentance would be under scrutiny by the African-American churches. The ritual act of repentance alone would not lead to the development of a new attitude or a new social consciousness, said Bishop Clarence Carr, with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, at the end of the repentance service. The ritual tree of repentance is barren without fruit worthy of repentance, he said. Repentance leads to redemption, and redemption demands restitution, reparation, liberation a new sense of freedom both for the victim and the victimizer. Calling the act a defining moment for the church of John Wesley, Carr said that he and other members of African-American Methodist denominations would not judge the United Methodists but would be fruit inspectors. The denominations were formed largely because of racism in The United Methodist Churchs predecessors. Since then, most of the 64 United Methodist annual conferences in the United States have held repentance services. Representatives of the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal and United Methodist churches came together in Baltimore before Thanksgiving in search of the fruit and to see how they would journey together in Christ in the future. Native American United Methodists also participated. The United Methodist Church has made strides in its repentance, but it needs assistance in identifying the missing pieces, said Anne Marshall, a staff executive with the denominations Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. The consultation focused on identifying next steps for The United Methodist Church to take beyond the act of repentance to reconciliation. Several ideas for next steps included moving beyond the safe observances, focusing on people 25-45 years old, acknowledging the intersections of race, and tearing down walls that separate various races. The group also discussed encouraging the startup of cooperative congregations under the pan-Methodist banner. After all of the churchwide and caucus reports on racism and the ritual acts, where are the fruits of repentance? asked the Rev. William McClain, professor of preaching and worship at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. In the keynote address, McClain wondered aloud whether any fruit exists or do we still produce wild grapes? If a tree is purporting to be an apple tree, the way to tell if it is so is to taste the fruit, examine the fruit, said Staccato Powell, an African Methodist Episcopal Zion representative from West Chester, Pa. So if The United Methodist Church is genuinely repentant for its actions of the past, then we want to know that by their current deeds and practices. Powell asked how The United Methodist Church could reach beyond its institutional walls if it continues to exclude those who never left its ranks a reference to the racism that still exists in the denomination. The United Methodist Church should walk the walk and not simply talk the talk, Powell said. McClain suggested that reconciliation is possible if The United Methodist Church confesses and ... straightens out what we messed up. Listening, sharing and trusting will move the four denominations toward becoming the Methodist family again, Powell said. She indicated that she was not talking about merger or organically becoming one, but in developing concrete relationships within communities. The four churches journey together will not end, Marshall said. Once you develop a relationship, there is not an end to it. You will always be on this road together. The destination is one where we listen to each other with respect and work together with integrity and come together in a relationship that has trust. | 
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