Bishop David Bard reflects on the violence and hatred experienced in our world and reminds us that our task, as the church, is to embody the peacefulness of Christ and work for a better world.
BISHOP DAVID ALAN BARD
Michigan Conference
I write this as I am thinking back on our just-completed annual conference. To all who were present, I am grateful for your thoughtfulness, kindness, prayers, and energy. As I shared in my State of the Conference report: “I am grateful for your ministry, for our shared ministry together, and for your participation in that shared ministry. Our work is unfinished. God still has work to do in us and through us. Jesus still wants to reach out through the Michigan Conference churches and ministries to touch the world with love and healing grace. We want to form people who love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.”
I am also preparing for my next annual conference in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, but that is another story!
There are numerous challenges and also wonderful opportunities for ministry. The world in which we live is not God’s dream for it. I quoted theologian Howard Thurman in my sermon at the Service of Recognition, Commissioning, and Ordination (RCO): “In the language of faith, the kingdoms of this world often conflict with the Kingdom of God. It cannot be denied that a part of the fact of human society is the will to destroy, to lay waste, and to spend. There is often so much that casts down and so little that uplifts and inspires . . . . And yet always, against this, something struggles” (Disciplines of the Spirit).
We have been painfully reminded all too often in recent days, weeks, and months of the violence and hatred that continue to mar our world. The war in Ukraine drags on and on. The actions of the Israeli government in response to the horrific October 2023 attack by Hamas have been cruel and destructive. Limiting humanitarian aid to hungry people is not a morally legitimate act of war. Strong feelings about the Israeli conduct of the war have dredged up unconscionable acts of anti-Semitism, such as the killing of a young Jewish couple in Washington, D.C., and the firebomb attack on a peaceful Jewish group in Colorado.
We are not immune. In recent months, some of our Michigan United Methodist churches have been the targets of hatred and threats. In one instance, a man entered one of our churches before an Ash Wednesday service, gave multiple “Heil Hitler” gestures, used other white supremacist language, and spewed other homophobic and misogynist language and slurs. Unfortunately, this is only one stark example of other instances of hatred or harassment. Our conference continues to stand with our congregations as we seek to minister peace, justice, reconciliation, compassion, and love in the name of Jesus Christ.
The contrast between such hateful incidents and the spring events in Rome is stark. The world mourned the death of Pope Francis. He was a person who embodied, for many, peacefulness and compassion. He did not do this perfectly for all, yet the marking of his death was a powerful reminder of how there is something in the human community that yearns for a better way. For many, Pope Francis symbolized that better way. Similar hopes were expressed with the election of Pope Leo XIV and his early calls for peace in the world.
Howard Thurman asserts that there is something within our hearts, minds, and souls, as well as in our lives as a community, that struggles against hatred, violence, and destruction. It may be the image of God that remains in each of us, an image we believe is set free to flourish by God’s grace in Jesus Christ. As a church, it is our task to embody the peacefulness of Christ and the love of God in our lives and our lives together, working toward a better world.
Our work is unfinished. There remains room in our lives for Christ to grow. There remains in the world room for Christ to be grown. May we become the kind of people to whom the world might look as a sign of a better way. May we live more fully into the vision of being disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.
Last Updated on June 11, 2025