A Call to Justice: A Letter from the General Secretary Honoring Dr. King's Legacy in the Pursuit of the Beloved Community
Dear Siblings in Christ,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. As we stand on the precipice of another year, we are called to pause and reflect on the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a drum major for justice whose life and witness continue to reverberate in our hearts and communities. Dr. King’s dream of a Beloved Community, rooted in justice, love, and reconciliation, challenges us as United Methodists to examine how we embody these principles today in a fractured and often unjust world.
More than five decades have passed since Dr. King’s prophetic voice called the world to account for the sins of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. Yet, the headlines of our day reveal that the work of racial justice remains unfinished. We witness the persistent realities of systemic racism—from the disproportionate deaths of Black and Brown individuals at the hands of law enforcement, to the widening wealth gap that leaves communities of color entrenched in generational poverty, to the resurgence of xenophobia and white supremacy that threatens our collective humanity. These realities are not isolated incidents but are deeply entrenched in systems and structures that have long favored the privileged while marginalizing the vulnerable. The scars of redlining, mass incarceration, voter suppression, immigration, and inequities in healthcare and education are not relics of the past but active forces shaping the present. The cumulative impact of these injustices not only perpetuates cycles of suffering but also erodes the moral fabric of our society, calling into question our commitment to the principles of equality and dignity for all.
The world is groaning, yearning for liberation, for justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24). I feel the weight of this moment and the urgent call for us, as the Church, to rise as a beacon of hope and a harbinger of change. We cannot remain silent, and we must be about our Wesleyan Social Holiness¹ movement.
Dr. King reminded us that "the Church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state."² We are called to disrupt the status quo, to resist the temptation of complacency, and to speak truth to power. The Church must reclaim its prophetic witness, addressing not only individual acts of prejudice but dismantling the systems and structures that perpetuate racial inequity. This is the moment for us to utilize our collective voice to resist evil in all of it forms, as our baptismal vows charge us.
A Call to Action
United Methodists, we are a people of action. Our faith demands that we respond to the injustice of our times with courage, compassion, and a commitment to transformation. Therefore, I call upon each of us to:
Engage in Sacred Reflection: Commit to learning the histories of oppression that continue to shape our present realities. Read, study, and wrestle with the uncomfortable truths of our collective past and present. Use resources such as GCORR’s study guides and tools to foster deep and meaningful conversations in your congregations and communities.
Build Authentic Relationships: Seek out relationships across racial, ethnic, and cultural divides. Listen deeply to the stories of those who have been marginalized, and allow these encounters to transform your heart and mind. Let us embody the spirit of Pentecost, where diversity is celebrated and unity is forged.
Advocate for Systemic Change: Move beyond the sanctuary into the public square. Advocate for policies that address racial injustice—whether in education, criminal justice, immigration, healthcare, or housing. Challenge laws and practices that dehumanize and marginalize. Let us keep at the center our theological understanding the sacred worth of all God’s creation.
Commit to Anti-Racism: Make anti-racism an integral part of your discipleship journey. Engage in the ongoing self-awareness work to understand your own cultural biases and identify your growth areas that will lead you to build bridges across differences. Create intentional action plans to move toward greater intercultural competency.
Pray and Act: Lift your voice in prayer, but do not let it end there. As Dr. King said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”³ Let us be a praying and active Church, grounded in hope and propelled by love. Utilize GCORR racial justice prayers as part of your daily devotional time.
United in Hope
The road ahead will not be easy, but as people of resurrection faith, we know that hope is not passive; it is a verb. Hope propels us to act, to speak, to stand, and to build. Hope assures us that though justice may be delayed, it is not denied. Together, we can dismantle the sin of racism and build the Beloved Community for which Dr. King lived and died.
Let this letter serve as both a lament for the brokenness we see and a rallying cry to embrace our sacred calling to be repairers of the breach (Isaiah 58:12). May we, as the people called United Methodists, live into our baptismal vows to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. It is a call for justice.
With the courage of Dr. King, the resilience of our ancestors, and the power of the Holy Spirit, let us press on toward the mark of God’s high calling for justice, equity, and love.
In Christ’s Service,
Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo
General Secretary
General Commission on Religion and Race
The United Methodist Church
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1 Discipleship Ministries | No Holiness But Social Holiness
2 Sermon "A Knock at Midnight" (1967)
3 Speech at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City, September 12, 1962.