Diversity is favored among Americans

"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes and different dreams."
- President Jimmy Carter

Did you know most people in this country are in favor of more diversity to the tune of 75 percent? The exception is extreme MAGA-ites who want to ensure white control. 

(Pew Research.and Gallup)

General Views on Diversity 

75% of U.S. adults say racial and ethnic diversity is a good thing for the United States.
62% believe racial and ethnic diversity has a positive impact on American culture.
82% of respondents in a large national study agreed with core pro-diversity statements.
82% to 85% of people think the variety of backgrounds makes the U.S. stronger. 

Workplace and Business Diversity

61% of Americans believe diverse workforces make businesses more profitable.
64% think diverse workforces make companies more innovative.
52% of workers view workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts as a good thing.

An appreciation of the value of diversity is a core value. The roots of that value go back to my childhood and my Methodist parents and grandparents. Yes, they were conservative, but they taught the value that each individual brings to the entire community.

Since diversity is at the core of who God is and who we are, then diversity is also at the heart of how we all come together in the church. The church originated from diversity. We see this reflected in the New Testament in Jesus’s disciples. Yes they were all Jewish males, but when you look closely at them you see that they were made up of different classes, politics, and economic status. Besides the disciples, the first people that Jesus reaches out to to preach the gospel are women. We read in the New Testament that after Jesus’s resurrection Jesus calls a diverse group of people to share the gospel.

Diversity is more than just race. The early church and the church of today is made up of many generations, individuals of different economic classes, different races and personalities. This mix of people coming together in fellowship is what makes up the church. Diversity is at the core of the church. And this diverse fellowship is an example of what God really looks like.

Diversity is a goal for many churches because diversity is a reflection of God, ourselves, and our fellowship together. Diversity is part of the story of our Christian faith, and it is a part of the Kingdom of God. 

God is diverse. The body of God seeks to reflect that diversity.

by Madison Myers

 

Insights into Action

These four passages offer insights into my core values and beliefs. All of these inspire. All of these shout, "Take action, don't remain silent. There's always more to be done." Being informed and digging deeper is a really important catalyst for motivation.

I invite you to immerse yourself and find the truth.

Good news is not the spiritual and intellectual property of males only or of a particular religion. And true discipleship or learning involves dialogue, mutuality, and humility.

Inspired by Acts 16: 9-15

As we strive for a vision of a peaceful earth, may we recognize that true nonviolence is not weakness but a sacred trust in humanity’s God-given capacity to grow, to change, and to choose the plowshare over the sword.

Inspired by Isaiah

May the Lord torment you. May the Lord disturb you. May the Lord keep before you the faces of the despised, rejected, lonely and oppressed. May the Lord give you strength and courage and compassion to make this a better world. And may you do your very best to make this a better city, a better state, a better world. And after you have done your best, may the Lord grant you peace. Amen.

UMC Bishop White

It is estimated that at least 300,000 individuals, mostly children, have died because of the slash in funding for USAID. That's according to NPR, PBS, The Times, ProPublica, and the NYTimes. The journalists reporting on this issue have sourced everything in their reporting. Of course, Marco Rubio denies this, but offers no sources that back his assertions. His denials will not make this go away.

The Hollow Men

The administration thinks mercy, empathy, and generosity are signs of weakness. His spiritual advisors proclaim empathy is a sin. They are bereft of any compassion.

I first became aquatinted with the concept of the hollow man in the 60's. The counter culture thought the establishment were the plastic people. They told us their conformity got us through the Great Depression and World War II. We rebelled against that conformity. But it wasn't conformity that got us through the 30's and first half of the 40's, it was unity. It was disparate communities coming together that got us through perilous times. We both had it wrong. 

Then later, a song by Sam Philips broadened my awareness about what TS Elliott was writing about in The Hollow Men.

        You try to tell the world how it should spin

        But you live in terror with the hollow men

        Who stun you with their lies

        With fever in their eyes as they drown you

        From "Baby, I Can't Please You."

The current administration is the essence of the Hollow Men. TS Elliott's poem depicts a world populated by "hollow men," who are spiritually and morally bankrupt, lacking purpose and meaning in their lives. The poem uses imagery and allusions to convey this sense of decay and despair.

“This is the way the world ends.

This is the way the world ends.

This is the way the world ends.

Not with a bang but a whimper.”

― T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Not if we unify against the hollow men. Unity is a concept of oneness where individuals join together by finding common ground. When I searched for a better definition, I came up with a couple of things. Notice there is not a duality, instead there is inclusiveness.

The concept of oneness is a multifaceted idea, generally referring to a sense of unity, interconnectedness, and a transcendence of boundaries or separations. It can be understood as a state of being whole, complete, and harmonized, with different interpretations arising in spiritual, philosophical, and psychological contexts.

Divine Essence

In the spiritual context there is divine essence. Many spiritual traditions believe that a divine force or energy permeates all of existence, and that individuals are part of this same essence.

Embrace the diversity. Find value in each of us. It is a force that is much stronger than fascism.