A supporter of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf attends a campaign rally in Tubmanburg.

Liberian church members voice support for new president

text and photos by Mary Miller

United Methodists in Liberia knew that their next president would be a member of their denomination; they just didn’t know which candidate it would be.

On Oct. 11, more than 1 million people — 74 percent of registered voters — went to the polls to participate in Liberia’s first democratic elections following 14 years of civil war.

A run-off election was held Nov. 8 between the two top vote-getters, soccer star George Weah and former Liberian finance minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf — both United Methodists. Neither of them drew more than 50 percent of the votes needed to win.

The final results were announced Nov. 23, and Johnson-Sirleaf was declared the winner, becoming the first woman to serve as head of state in Africa.

“The Liberian people have chosen, and I am humbled by the fact that they have elected me to lead the effort of reconciliation and development,” she told the BBC.

A woman is checked off the voter registration roll in Bomi County, Liberia.

Many United Methodists in Liberia worked hard to galvanize support for Johnson-Sirleaf, who they believe is the most capable person to lead the country.

“She is our daughter. She grew up in this church, and we know how she was raised,” said the Rev. Erlene Thompson of First United Methodist Church in Monrovia, where Johnson-Sirleaf is an active member.

Thompson is confident that Johnson-Sirleaf has the skills required to rebuild Liberia after years of civil war, which have left the country in ruins. Even its capital city is without electricity or running water.

Rudolph Merab, the lay leader for the Liberian Annual Conference, described the churches as “foot soldiers” during the run-off campaign period. Members went door to door encouraging people to vote for Liberia as a nation, rather than on ethnic or partisan lines.

“We worked hard because we knew everything was at stake,” Merab said.

Many believe the fact that Johnson-Sirleaf is a United Methodist gives the church a mandate to ensure that she receives the support she needs and that she lives up to her campaign promises.

Liberian United Methodists are developing ways to work with the new administration as well as to be independent from it.

The Liberian Conference has created the Liberian United Methodist Empowerment Foundation to assist ordinary Liberians through livelihood-

support projects and training, among other things. The foundation is building an endowment fund, which receives support through the denomination’s Advance for Christ and His Church (Advance special #000382-3RA).

“People here depend on the government for everything” said Merab, the foundation’s co-chairman. While stressing that the church will work with Johnson-Sirleaf wherever possible, he noted, “It’s important for the church to be in a position of independence from the government.”

However, the Rev. Weh Weah Betieh, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, commented, “The church is not separate from politics — even Jesus was a politician.”

—Adapted from a United Methodist News Service article by Mary Miller, assistant program coordinator for the Democracy Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga.