Aims of Methodist Friends of Judaism
~To celebrate the contribution of Judaism to not only Christianity but also to the world at large.
~To raise awareness of the historic and continuing presence of anti-Judaism within the Christian Church.
~To Challenge anti-Semitism in whatever guise it manifests itself
Announcement
A post appeared on this site on Wednesday 1st July 2020 about Notice of Motion 101 at the 2020 Methodist Conference. Regrettably, it may have given the impression that the proposers were seeking to align the Methodist Church with Black Lives Matter UK, a far-left political grouping who have advocated for defunding police, removal of prisons and issued an antisemitic trope.
This was never our intention and we offer an unconditional apology to anyone who may have viewed this to be the case. It was made quite clear during the debate by both the proposer and the Secretary of Conference that in their view the use of capital letters for Black Lives Matter did not seek to align the Church in any way with the organisation but with the movement. This we wholly accept whilst remaining highly critical of Black Lives Matter UK.
Notice of Motion 1010 Preamble
The Conference continues to believe that racism is a denial of the gospel and also opposes and rejects all other forms of unjust discrimination, including homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. It hears the challenge of those who proclaim that Black Lives Matter. It recognises that there is still much work to be done to ensure that individual and systemic discrimination is brought to light and rooted out of the life of the Methodist Church. While welcoming the work that has been done by the Methodist Council following the referral by the Conference of 2019 of Notices of Motion 2019/206 and 2019/207, it believes that a more robust and rigorous approach is required. Experience in many sectors has demonstrated that careful, independent and transparent monitoring processes are an essential element of combating unjust discrimination.
A post appeared on this site on Wednesday 1st July 2020 about Notice of Motion 101 at the 2020 Methodist Conference. Regrettably, it may have given the impression that the proposers were seeking to align the Methodist Church with Black Lives Matter UK, a far-left political grouping who have advocated for defunding police, removal of prisons and issued an antisemitic trope.
This was never our intention and we offer an unconditional apology to anyone who may have viewed this to be the case. It was made quite clear during the debate by both the proposer and the Secretary of Conference that in their view the use of capital letters for Black Lives Matter did not seek to align the Church in any way with the organisation but with the movement. This we wholly accept whilst remaining highly critical of Black Lives Matter UK.
Notice of Motion 1010 Preamble
The Conference continues to believe that racism is a denial of the gospel and also opposes and rejects all other forms of unjust discrimination, including homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. It hears the challenge of those who proclaim that Black Lives Matter. It recognises that there is still much work to be done to ensure that individual and systemic discrimination is brought to light and rooted out of the life of the Methodist Church. While welcoming the work that has been done by the Methodist Council following the referral by the Conference of 2019 of Notices of Motion 2019/206 and 2019/207, it believes that a more robust and rigorous approach is required. Experience in many sectors has demonstrated that careful, independent and transparent monitoring processes are an essential element of combating unjust discrimination.
