A frequent question posed in urban ministry classes when I was a student at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., was whether or not the community would miss the presence of the local church if its doors were to close. That always challenged me as a pastor, now retired, to make sure that after we gathered to worship and celebrate the goodness of God in our lives, we relayed that goodness beyond the walls to our neighbors.
And that’s the focus of my new beat, Religion and Social Justice, here at Word in Black. I’m raring to tell the stories of how righteousness prevails in spaces occupied by people empowered by their God, how the fight continues beyond brick-and-mortar houses of worship to unjust systems that weigh heavily on people who cannot and should not bear the burden.
Houses of worship are up to the battle, armed with the tenets of their faith and the mandate of neighborly love that keeps them going.
When our ancestors began to gather themselves for meetings of all kinds, it was the church that welcomed them. The church was the meeting place not only for religious practices but also for planning insurrection and rebellion. The church was the only place that belonged to them, and they could frequent it without anyone’s permission.
Across religious groups, according to Pew Research Center data, 75% of Black Christians view anti-racism as core to “being a faithful or moral person,” more than Christians from other racial or ethnic groups. One of the worst things slaveholders could have done was to expose their captives to biblical stories of slaves breaking out of bondage, as in the exodus of the Hebrew slaves. They understood it was their God-given right to be free.
So we still fight — no matter our religious tradition or background. Some fight for educational justice that allows students the liberty to learn without the stipulations of checks and balances that inhibit that learning. Some fight in courtrooms for equity in the ways laws are applied without the gracious assurance of blind justice. Some fight in the markets where access and prices prevent overworked, underpaid people from feeding their families healthy food.
It’s an ongoing fight, and houses of worship are up to the battle, armed with the tenets of their faith and the mandate of neighborly love that keeps them going.
And I am privileged to tell the story.
Folks like us are championing equity and justice and serving as catalysts for change. If you have stories about how faith intersects with social justice in your faith community, I’m eager to hear them.
Please send your news to me at Dorothy.Boulware@WordinBlack.com.