April 9, 2020 — WASHINGTON, D.C. – President of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church Bishop Kenneth H. Carter has urged Christians to rely on the power of Easter to overcome the forces of death, division, darkness, and despair in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In the Easter message to The United Methodist Church, Bishop Carter noted that, “Easter is the moment when who we are, what we believe and what we do becomes clear. Easter is the power of the crucified and risen Jesus over the forces of death — and in this season of COVID-19, a global pandemic, we claim this promise.”
He pointed that the Easter event, the resurrection, as reported in Matthew 28:1-10, was continuous with everything Jesus had said and done throughout his life, every chapter within the book a little Easter. And so, for the followers of Jesus, all of life is continuous with this day, with this moment, even amidst COVID-19 all of life is Easter.
“I join you in prayer for the world, on this day. In the midst of a global pandemic, we do not minimize the threat to life, the loss of life, the lament of loss. It is unsettling. And yet we do not grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4). In a very different but a very real way, we are given the gift of Easter, just as we receive this, when we need it most,” he said.
Click here to read Bishop Carter’s full letter (p