The 2020 Peace Interns have been working on all sorts of amazing projects!
Head over to disciplespeace.org/campresources to check out a few of them!
#DOCjustsummer: AllianceQ
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus gives us the commandment to love and honor God, and to love ourselves and one another. While sometimes in the modern day it can be hard for people to see others adhering to the latter than the former, there is still hope for the church and the wider world. Especially for the LGBTQ+ community, this love has been absent from the community’s life for a time, but it is never too late to rectify that.
The mission of AllianceQ is to build a network of ministries and people that work towards the inclusion of all people of gender expression and sexual identities.The history of AllianceQ dates back 40 years with its beginning as GLAD: Gay, Lesbian and Affirming Disciples. The organization continues to expand and is renewing its commitment to intersectional justice to include and address the lived experiences of other minority groups
Celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to protect LGBTQ+ individuals’ employment rights on June 15 was a huge victory not only for AllianceQ but for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. And during these unprecedented times of COVID-19, AllianceQ has found that queer people have been drawn more to the church now more than ever. Because of the virtualization of church, queer people are feeling more comfortable attending a service from their screens. They are hosting a Pride service on June 28th titled Riot. Information can be found on the website here, and AllianceQ hopes that through this event more voices will continue to come together for LGBTQ+ and racial justice.
If you would like to join in on the work for a more inclusive church, please visit and learn about:
To become a member and contribute financially or time-wise, http://disciplesallianceq.org/main/contribute/
To join their mailing list, http://disciplesallianceq.org/mailing-list/
Also, Like them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllianceQ/
Learn about the Equality Act
Widen the table through conversation, trainings with AllianceQ, and incorporation of resources (see conversation opportunity below!)
And to start conversations in your own personal circles and churches.
“From the tables in our churches to the Supreme Court benches,” Thursday, June 25, at 12 p.m. CDT
As part of the #DOCjustsummer series, AllianceQ hosts this Facebook Live event to share info about its 40 years of ministry alongside the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and how individuals can join in the work of setting a place at the table for persons of all gender expressions and sexual identities. As Disciples, we share a radically wide table. We know we’re in different places. Join us as we explore the table’s wide welcome. A question-and-answer period will be facilitated by Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray (Disciples Peace Fellowship) and DPF interns. Bring your lunch (or a mid-morning snack if you’re on the west coast); after all, the focus of the conversation is the table. Join the live event at this link.
#DOCjustsummer: Poor People's Campaign
““Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing homeless children.””
As I scroll down my Facebook news feed, an ad comes up for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington Digital Gathering. This event is taking place on Saturday, June 20, 2020 but there is much to do in anticipation of a world-wide event, much to learn and much to know.
The Poor People’s Campaign is leading the charge with their 12 core principles rooted in justice and moral analysis based on deep religious and constitutional values. Last fall a “Souls of Poor Folk” study was released that shows the ways race, economics and other factors impact people. The aim of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is to shift the moral narrative that blames poor people for their poverty, the oppressed for their weariness, the marginalized for their persecution and pits us against each other rather than uniting us to promote desired peace, justice, love, harmony, and fullness. This organization aims to build the power and unity of people from the ground up or (maybe more appropriately for the times) the screen forward.
Included in the campaign are labor unions; denominational, ecumenical and interfaith organizations; fraternal groups; LGBTQI rights groups; women’s organizations; groups protecting children; and anti-poverty organizations as well. There is hope in the way these many concerns have coalesced into a movement. The 2017 General Assembly adopted a resolution to support the effort.
And speaking of a time to be in: Amidst a global pandemic, the work of this organization has not gotten any easier. With the coronavirus disproportionally affecting poorer, minority communities, the pressure and urgency for change has increased. To tackle the issues, many nonviolent civil disobedience events have and are taking place led by co-chairs Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. Today’s Poor People’s Campaign is founded on inspiration from the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign of Rev. Dr. King and others, but “it also sees its roots in the Poor People’s Campaign that Jesus led in ancient Israel 2,000 years ago” as stated in a sermon by Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. Repairers of the Breach and the Kairos Center are key partners in connecting the many strands of activism.
This is a prime example of an organization continuing the Lord’s work into modern day society. They are bringing justice and sight into a blinded world. Issues that have recently been tackled include confronting the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. It takes powerful people to give power. The powerful members of the Poor People’s Campaign are broadening their efforts, combining together and not staying silent, speaking WITH the poor and lifting up the voices of those impacted. That requires movement of spirit, of mind, and of body (well, maybe fingers).
You can learn more about this digital gathering and how to join the movement at https://www.june2020.org/ . You can also find out more about the situation in your United States context with fact sheets available on each state.
Now is the time to rise and campaign for justice. This is our charge. Jesus came to bring good news to the labored, the marginalized, the tired and weary and, as we know well, the poor.
Will we?
#DOCjustsummer: Refugee & Immigration Ministries
Long before the protests and other events of recent weeks, groups of Disciples have banded together to do the work of justice. This summer, each issue of Disciples News Service will feature one of our many justice-oriented ministries and invite you to learn more about them. We hope you will find a place to put your passion to work! It's not too late to sign up for the June 20 Poor People's Campaign digital march.
An added bonus for this effort is that our 2020 DPF Peace Interns, while not able to travel to camps due to the COVID-19 cancellations, will be helping us see these ministries through fresh eyes by writing these weekly feature articles!
““Thus says the Lord: act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.””
The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God demands that we rescue those being unfairly compensated, that we do no harm to the foreigner, orphan, or widow, and that we put no innocent lives at risk. Particularly during this time of COVID-19 crisis, refugees and immigrants are many of the unfairly compensated, innocent foreigners whose lives are at risk. Particularly during this time of COVID-19 crisis, we who are faithful must do what we can to answer Jeremiah’s call.
Both the Disciples Refugee and Immigration Ministries (working more domestically) and Week of Compassion (working both domestically and globally) minister in partnership with those who know best their own needs, learning and growing with and from others, in order to respond to Jeremiah’s call to do this good and just work. And there’s a lot of good and just work that still needs doing.
Week of Compassion works alongside Church World Service and other global partners to help those living in refugee camps to attain water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), which have only become more important during the time of pandemic. With so many people living in close proximity, social distancing is often not possible, elevating the importance of clean water and soap for handwashing, needs that (along with food security) Week of Compassion has prioritized during the COVID-19.
Domestically, many refugees and immigrants work at meat packing plants or as farm workers, who have repeatedly expressed that “we’re scared” but “we’re expected to keep going,” oftentimes without appropriate PPE. Agricultural workers have experienced significant outbreaks, and some of the very worst outbreaks in the US have occurred at meatpacking plants. These workers, essential to the food supply chain in the US, have voiced their concerns and have yet to be heard.
Amidst all of the COVID-19 concern, there is another group of immigrants whose fate is currently being decided, but has gone alarmingly unnoticed: the Dreamers. These DACA recipients currently await a ruling from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the DACA executive order. In the midst of stress and anxiety caused by a global pandemic, this decision, expected to be made sometime in June 2020, adds an undue burden of stress and anxiety for these young people and threatens to rip families apart.
The COVID-19 crisis has not created these injustices, but rather illuminated them. So often, the weight of disaster falls disproportionately on those already struggling under the weight of poverty. From the COVID-19 crisis to climate change, the most vulnerable among us are often the ones most radically affected.
But there is hope. Week of Compassion’s Erin Wathen says that she sees hope “where people are working together as a community” to effect positive change, in the adaptability and resilience of those ministries working to combat injustices exacerbated in the wake of COVID-19, in those who are giving financially to help address some of these needs.
So What Can You Do?
Support refugees: World Refugee Day is this month, June 20, 2020 (and Refugee Welcome Sunday is June 21)! LIFT UP refugees in your churches. You can even use pre-prepared material from the Refugee Welcome Sunday Toolkit. Incorporate this material into the service or ask your pastor to include it. PRAY for refugees and that many churches will lift up refugees together. GIVE financially to Week of Compassion, if you can.
Support farm and meat-packing workers: CALL your US legislators to support protections – including adequate PPE and testing, healthcare, sick leave, and a living wage – for these essential workers (Call (202)224-3121 or go to https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/ to find the contact information for your legislators). You can also SIGN this letter, advocating that these workers receive reasonable benefits, especially while they put themselves in harm’s way.
Support DACA recipients: LISTEN to DACA leaders’ experiences and the importance of DACA by joining the “Monday Morning DACA Prayers” Mondays from 9:30 to 10 AM Eastern (Register here), before the Supreme Court meets to make decisions each week; listen to more stories at homeishere.us. RING DACA BELLS FOR JUSTICE the day after the Supreme Court decision at noon. As a church or faith community, ring any bells on the property. As an individual, find a bell and ring it on your porch or in a public street, to “gather the faithful” to pray and respond, call attention to the impacts of the decision, and advocate for permanent protections for DACA recipients. Then at 1 PM Eastern, the day after the decision, JOIN THE VIRTUAL RALLY (text DACADECISION to 877-877 for more information) to show your support for DACA recipients.
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:
Join Refugee and Immigration Ministries for a Facebook Live event this coming Thursday, June 11, 2020!
For ANY concerns related to refugees, immigrants, or asylum seekers, please contact Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, stanley@dhm.disciples.org, via phone or text 202-957-7826
Please SIGN UP for our “RIM WRAP” updates and action alerts at: http://bit.ly/RIMWRAPSIGNUP.
Find resources always on RIM’s website at: www.bit.ly/DisciplesRIM, and find particular worship resources at: http://bit.ly/RIMWorshipResources.
Also, please follow RIM through social media on Facebook at: www.bit.ly/RIMFacebook, and on Twitter @StanleyRea