Faith may be a personal thing, and often is a private experience. Yet it's also public and impossible to divorce from the life that we live in the public square. And in that paradox, living our faith in the public square isn't merely a question of how loud (or softly) we may try to proselytize others. It's our faith, the biblical mandate that we have encountered in Jesus the Christ to love God with all of who we are and to love others along our path in the same ways.
In our community of faith we're seeking to empower each person to live their faith also in the public square in how they spend their time and money, how they articulate their moral imagination and ethical values and how we stand in solidarity with each other and all of creation. Our Faith in the Public Square is the small group format in which we seek to do just that.
The Spiritual Practice of Advocacy
Palm Sunday, April 13th we took time in worship to practice the spiritual discipline of advocacy. It was our way of entering into the story of Jesus’ street theatre protest parade that subverted the status quo vision of power and violence. Riding into the capital city on a donkey, while be acclaimed with palm branches waved by his followers, he embodied the promises of righteousness and justice spoken through the Hebrew Scriptures and prophets.
We took the time together in worship to advocate for peace, justice and truth in terms of Church independence in our country, the right to free expression of opinions, the right to not be disappeared as an immigrant and to encourage our national church leadership to be strong and courageous.
We wrote and mailed
11 letters to Attorney General Pam Bondi
11 letters to Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem
7 letters to President Trump
14 letters to Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church USA
You can write more letters and expand the spiritual practice of working for justice by finding the advocacy handout and instructions linked and listed below:
The Spiritual Practice of Advocacy
You might also find it interesting to read an article that appeared in the NY Times on Sunday that articulated a similar interpretation of Palm Sunday as nonviolent protest. HERE.
Some of our Past Actions include
Banner Engagement
In our divided, disaffected and politicized culture we're seeking to be a community that is other-inclusive and affirming not from any political perspective or politically correct language, but rather from our hearing of scripture which teaches that we are all created together in God's image, that we are called to love God with all of who we are and to love others in that same way; and that when we encounter the poor, the widow, the orphan, the broken, the refugee, the immigrant and the asylee, that we are encountering Jesus.
In that vein we've curating an articulation of faith in the public square byhanging a banner that proclaims such biblically-based neighborly love, created by fellow Presbyterian David LaMotte. You can learn more about his inspiration and his goals for community engagement on his website.
The (re)Emerging Sanctuary Movement
Are you interested in learning more about how to stand nonviolently both for the protection and safety of immigrant and refugee neighbors, as well as how to act to protect them? Here are some concrete helps: local trainings, downloadable information and other links.
What is the modern Sanctuary Movement? What does it look like and involve [download packet]
