Day 2
Greetings from the Methodist Church – ‘We are all each other’s brothers and sisters’
The President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Dr Sahr Yambasu, brought greetings from the Methodist Church to members of General Synod.
He reminded members that we live in a global village where we need to rethink our boundaries. Global warming, climate change, unpredictable weather conditions, biodiversity impacted everyone but often it was the poorest and most vulnerable who were impacted most by these realities, he stated.
He said that Covid–19 has had devastating effects on people around the globe. But he pointed out that it showed that when we cooperated with each other we could successfully address threats.
However, despite a recognition of injustice we still act unjustly towards others, he stated explaining that vaccine injustice revealed the deep seated divisions in our world.
On the subject of racial justice, Dr Yambasu said the Black Lives Matter movement was highlighting the results of centuries of our inhumane interactions with black people. He asked churches to take seriously the results of the Irish Council of Churches research in this area when it is published.
He said we were witnessing forced migration of people largely from southern to northern hemisphere because of war, hunger and poverty. But instead of compassion we were witnessing increasingly draconian actions to keep people out of nations to which they flee.
In this centenary year relations on this island had come into focus, he observed. These issues were mutual concerns of our churches and addressing them adequately required mutual cooperation, he said.
The Covenant relationship between the Methodist Church and the Church of Ireland warmed his heart, he said. He noted that conversations were taking place in other congregations regarding this experiment. He admitted that they encountered difficulties but they were committed to working through them.
Cooperation was also shown in the Church Leaders Group, he said. He thanked the group for their generous hospitality to him and the level of acceptance and kindness from each of the church leaders.
“’Until all are safe no one is safe’ is not just true of Covid–19 it is true of all humanity’s issues,” he said citing St Paul and saying we are all each other’s brothers and sisters.