Statement of Commission on Social Justice - '09 General Board
To Senior Bishop William H. Graves, Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham, Chair of the College of Bishops, the College of Bishops, General Officers, Judicial Council, Heads of Connectional Institutions, and Members of the General Connectional Board.
The Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns met on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 and made the following recommendations:
1. We are proud to salute the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. We recognize that this significant milestone is the result of the improvement in race relations in the United States of America as it gives us more hope for positive change as we move toward a more perfect union.
2. We continue to support a universal health care system for all Americans that would provide adequate health care resources to more than 45 million Americans. We support President Barack Obama's health care expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program and other health initiatives underway. We also support participation in the 50 Million Pound Initiative started by Dr. Ian Smith, awareness of issues regarding African-American men and prostate cancer, and removal of the stigma regarding issues of mental health. It is OK to ask for help.
We support President Obama's proposal yesterday to ask Congress for 63 billion dollars over six years to battle chronic global health crises, including AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
3. We must re-direct and re-focus our attention on major health issues facing African Americans: the HIV/AIDS crisis and proper drug and mental health treatment. Therefore, we recommend that our CME churches lift up and educate our black men and women about the HIV/AIDS crisis and other major health issues, and support, coach and mentor our black youth and young adults to ensure that they are spiritually, physically and mentally healthy! We salute the Balm in Gilead and the Women's Missionary Council for their efforts in this area and encourage participation in this endeavor.
4. We encourage every CME church to be engaged in voter registration efforts and partner with the NAACP to register members within the church and persons within the community.
5. We support the One Church One School community partnership program that encourages every church to partner with a public school to improve academic achievement, social behavior, and personal development of all students. We applaud the efforts of the College of Bishops supporting One Church One School by appointing Episcopal directors in each District, to coordinate and increase the number of church school partnerships across our nation.
The National One Church One School Conference will be held in Memphis, Tennessee, October 21-23, 2009.
6. We support the National Urban League's report, The State of Black America 2009: Message to the President, that examines the critical challenges -such as unemployment, home foreclosures, education and health care reform - that President Obama's new administration must address. The message encourages and inspires us to join in working to help President Obama fulfill the promise he made to us last summer "to build a nation worthy of our children's future."
7. We recognize that the greatest civil rights challenge facing black America in the 21st century is the economic line between Blacks and whites, rich and poor, the haves, have-nots, and have mores. We recommend that our connectional churches in our communities focus on our Black males, Rites of Passage programs, educational and economic opportunities, and developing ministries in the churches and communities to meet their needs.
8. We continue to call for prison reform, drug rehabilitation efforts, and the abolishment of the death penalty because it has been proven to be discriminatory against people of color and particularly our African American males.
9. We encourage and support Bread for the World 2009 Offering of letters to end hunger both in our nation and around the world.
10. We support all efforts to address and end domestic violence, and support for victims of domestic violence.
11. We must continue to , For the end of the Iraq war, and pray for the safety and security of our men and women who are serving in the Armed Forces to protect America!
12. We encourage all CME congregations to be proactive in learning all of the facts regarding the federal economic stimulus package and how it will impact and help our communities.
13. We want to remind every CME that 2010 in addition to being a General Conference year is also the year of the Census. It is important that we become involved in the process through education and participation individually as well as collectively. If we are not counted, we will not count!
14. We salute Rev. James T. Morris of the 3rd Episcopal District and a member of this Commission on his recent election to the Missouri State Legislature.
Finally, we salute Senior Bishop William H. Graves for being selected again as one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans by Ebony magazine in its May 2009 issue.

Respectfully submitted,

The Commission on Social Justice and Human
Concerns

Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Chair
Rev. Amariah McIntosh, Secretary
Rev. L.K. Allen
Rev. Larry Brown
Rev. Paul Freeman
Rev. James Morris
Rev. Brian Reese
Rev. Regina Reese-Young
Rev. Anthony Ware