SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM
The Social Justice Team started with members of the congregation who wanted to address the issue of racism.
The initial mission statement was . . .
“To identify, confront and dismantle racism in all its forms, in our church and community, in order that God’s Kin-dom✽ may come on earth as it is in heaven.”
The stated motivation was . . .
“Led by the endless creativity of God Almighty, the unconditional love of Jesus as witnessed in the gospels, and the life giving breath of God’s Holy Spirit; we will care for those wounded by acts of racism, nourish those hungry for justice, and stand with those who have been marginalized and oppressed as we journey together toward a more just society.”
The method outlined was . . .
To identify — name racism whenever and wherever it is encountered.
To resource — educate, provide accurate accounts of racism both historical and contemporary, and offer strategies for a more just way forward.
To act — identify and promote meaningful and tangible structural reform in our life together as a congregation and community.
To love — work to heal wounded connections and develop new relationships in our community by adhering to God’s command to love our neighbor, so as to further the establishment of God’s Kin-dom.
The stated mission, motivation, and method have not been abandoned on the issue of racism. However, the group later decided to expand, as events dictate, the scope of the mission to include new and recurring social justice realities. A snippet of these social justice actualities would include . . . health care, sexual identity, voting privilege, climate/environmental evolution, tax equity, prison reform, religious harassment, housing opportunities and affordability, academic controls/restrictions, imperiled democracy.
SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM
ACTIVE: Barb Adams, Steve Allen, Will Cass, Veronica Gordon, Gregory Higgins,
Gwendolyn Higgins, Janet Houston, Gael Morey, Joseph Norman,
Gloria Pickett, Aysel VanDeventer, Mary Wethington
EMERITUS: Crystal Middelton, Ray Polivka, Pastor Jody Spiak, Lloyd Wright
✽ God’s Kin-dom — Most attribute the phrase to a Franciscan Nun named Georgene Wilson. It has been widely used in the feminist movement and was also influential in the liberation movements of Latin America. It has become popularized in recent years as a way to describe the community God is creating on earth, unburdened by the imperial, patriarchal and autocratic tones the word “Kingdom” often has associated with it.