Belmont UMC Staff on English Only

Posted by admin on January 5, 2009

This month Davidson County voters will head to the polls to vote on the English Only Charter Amendment. This Amendment would preclude the use of all non-English languages by Metro Government. Sides have been taken in this issue over the last few weeks. A number of city leaders, including Mayor Karl Dean, Belmont area Councilman Keith Durbin, and most recently, the presidents of Nashville Colleges and Universities have spoken in opposition to this amendment. Faith leaders have signed a petition in opposition to this amendment. We join them in opposition.

On any Sunday Belmont United Methodist Church is blessed with dozens of members who have not yet learned to speak English. They gather in our Chapel for a special worship celebration in the languages and dialects of the Golden Triangle Countries of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. They are beloved members of our immigrant population—many of whom came to America as refugees. On any given weekday there are dozens of English As a Second Language students in our classrooms and hallways. All of these persons are eager to learn the language. Navigating our government and school systems in English can be difficult and frustrating. Without language assistance it would become impossible and completely inhospitable.

There are many reasons given for voting against this amendment; we have information sheets for those who are interested. But for people of faith this amendment is also about the theology of hospitality. One of the laws given to the people of Israel was to “love the stranger because you were strangers in Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19) Hospitality is about how we treat those who are new to our community, it is about extending the hand and the heart, it is about treating others as we would want to be treated, and it is about extending the extravagant love of God to others. As people of God we are here to give voice to the light and love of God in this world, not the darkness of fear, prejudice and exclusion. And we are called to embrace the gift of God’s diverse world with hope and joy.

We encourage you to go to the polls and we encourage you to vote no on the English Only Charter Amendment.

–Ken Edwards and Linda Johnson.