What‘s Old Is New Again
By Anne Packard
February brings both confirmation studies and Black History Month to the forefront of the Methodist movement. Can these two seemingly unrelated topics be brought together for the benefit of the world? Yes, but only with the faith, hope, and love that God brings. Are we still confirmed to racial equity? What’s old is new again.
How can Methodists use the sacrament of confirmation to advance racial equity in their community? Here are seven examples of people who did just that.
- Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of the world, and repent of their sin;
Rev. Gil Caldwell, a Methodist minister, participated in the march on Washington in 1963, in the Mississippi Summer Voter Drives in 1964, in the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, and in the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968. Rev. Caldwell ministered in the Methodist church for over sixty years and in five different conferences. He intentionally renounced wickedness, rejected evil, and provided for repentance in the sin of segregation.
- Do you accept the freedom and power God gives them to resist evil, injustice, and oppression;
Anna E. Hall, born in Bainbridge, Georgia in 1870, graduated from lower and high school, graduated from Clark University, taught in Florida, became a principal in Jesup, Georgia, graduated from the New England Deaconess Training School, and served at Lloyd Street Methodist Church in Atlanta. In 1907, Hall began her missionary work in Liberia growing a school, writing a hymnal in the native language, and growing the church from 200 to 500 members while battling gender inequality, cannibalism, and child sacrifice. Mama Hall, as she was affectionately known, accepted God’s freedom and power to resist many forms of evil both in her home state of Georgia and abroad.
- Do you confess Jesus Christ as Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as their Lord:
Bishop James R. King, Jr. was born in Alabama, graduated from Interdenominational Theological Center, served as an evangelist to the West Indies, and ministered in churches in Alabama, California, and Tennessee before serving as a district superintendent and senior pastor to a 4,500 member church. He was a five-time delegate to General Conference prior to being elected bishop in 2000 where he served the Louisville Conference and became the first African-American bishop of the South Georgia Conference. Bishop King put his whole trust in God and continues to serve Him as Lord and Savior.
- Will you remain faithful members of Christ’s holy church and serve as Christ’s representatives in the world;
Rev. Joseph Lowery graduated from Paine College and Payne Theological Seminary before earning a doctorate in Divinity from Chicago Ecumenical Institute. He ministered for ten years with the Warren Street Methodist Church, led the Montgomery bus boycott, led an organization focused on desegregating public spaces, and cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Lowery also marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, created a forum protesting the existence of apartheid in South Africa, and advocated for LGBTQ and same sex marriage. Rev. Lowery remained a faithful member of the Methodist movement and the ministry of Jesus Christ.
- Will you be loyal to Christ through the United Methodist Church and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries;
Leontine T. Kelly graduated Virginia Union University and North Texas State University, the University of Cincinnati, and the College of William and Mary. After teaching school, she completed her Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, was ordained a deacon and elder, and served on the staff of the Virginia Conference Council on Ministries. Rev. Kelly served a church, became the Assistant General Secretary of the UM General Board of Discipleship, was elected bishop by the Western Jurisdiction and served as the first African-American female bishop in the UMC. Throughout her ministry, Bishop Kelly did all in her power to strengthen the Methodist Church and bring greater racial equity to the world.
- Will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness;
Harry Hosier met Francis Asbury in 1780, delivered his first sermon to a black Methodist congregation in 1781, was the first black man to deliver a sermon to a white congregation in 1784, and attended the Christmas Conference with the leaders of Methodism in America. He was a circuit rider from South Carolina to Massachusetts with Asbury, toured New England with Freeborn Garrettson, and became a sensation in New York in 1786. Thomas Coke wrote in his journal, saying Hosier was “one of the best preachers in the world.” Despite often being the first person of color to participate in the ministries of the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Hosier changed the movement through his prayers, presence, gifts, service and, witness.
- Will you receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
Susan Angeline Collins became the first black student enrolled in the Iowa University for Normal Training, opened her own business in the Dakota Territory, and attended the Chicago Training School to become a missionary. Bishop William Taylor, the first American missionary bishop of the MEC church in Africa, recruited Collins to sail for the Congo in 1887. After two years, she traveled to Angola where she served for 13 years and opened a school for girls. Despite the fact that Collins was 50 years old and should not have been able to return to Angola, she returned to her missionary post and served another 18 years. Throughout her travels in the world, Missionary Collins professed her faith and devotion to the scriptures.
As we welcome more confirmands into membership in The United Methodist Church, may we also renew our devotion and dedication to the body of Christ, ensuring that
all people may live out their mission to the world in peaceful, just communities.
Anne Packard serves as Conference Historian and director of the Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum on St. Simons Island. Contact her at apackard@epworthbythesea.org.
