If we truly believe in Jesus’ teachings to turn the other cheek, to walk the extra mile, to love our neighbors as ourselves then how can we help but stand up for and speak out on behalf of those who are oppressed?  Social Justice goes hand in hand with person faith.  It doesn’t seem possible to have a truly authentic and deep Christian faith without seeing that Christ calls us into the world to be God’s hands and prophetic voices challenging abuses of power and the status quo.

​

I am deeply concerned about racism, systemic injustice, oppression based on gender, sexual orientation, class or ability.  If we take seriously the worldview that Jesus offers to his disciples we must believe that God hopes for more justice, more equality, more sharing and more inclusivity than currently exists in our world.

​

In order to be relevant and faithful, I believe that we, as Christians must get out of our comfortable pews and into the streets. We need to treat those who are homeless, hungry or dealing with addiction as brothers and sisters in Christ.  We need to use our power to advocate for the powerless.  For some, that will mean working at the soup kitchen, for others it will mean attending marches and rallies, for still others it will mean making phone calls and writing letters, and for others it may mean standing with immigrants at trials and helping to resettle refugees.  People may have very different ways of their faith, but they all are valid as long as they are prayerfully listening to God and actively putting their feet where their faith is!