shared to PNC listserv June 13:
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I applaud our conference leadership for taking the issue of justice into their considerations about the structure of the Pacific Northwest Conference. My fear is that we will make some symbolic step to prove to ourselves that we are just, while leaving intact the structure that ensures that we will not significantly oppose the forces of domination and exploitation.
Our political and economic order functions to siphon wealth and power from vulnerable populations, including future generations and transfer those resources to people who already possess an excessive share. As the gap between the wealthy and the poor increases, debts rise, homelessness increases, hopes for a better life decline, people become more anxious, depressed, angry and divided. As a nation we have come to accept violence, homelessness and the ever mounting costs of climate change as part of our landscape. As a denomination we occasionally decry such things within the safe confines of our congregations, and we take small symbolic actions which barely register in our budgets.
I joined the United Church of Christ because the concept of distributive justice as an integral part of the faith was acknowledged and acted on. I valued the platform for justice a liberal denomination provided and the UCC was the most liberal Christian denomination. I have come to realize that much more is required. The structure of our denomination, and most of Christianity, is primarily geared for congregations to smoothly integrate into their surrounding communities. Unfortunately our communities are integrated into a system of order whose foundation is violent domination and exploitation. Gun violence, our huge prison system, the massive expenditures in militarism, extreme and growing economic inequality, pervasive racism, our inability to end homelessness, or meaningfully address climate change and a host of other issues are symptoms of the values that guide our nation. The Church needs a new structure based on a new identity and mission.
In the gospels, Jesus gathered a community which then followed him as he engaged in an outward focused mission. That mission centered on opposing the values, priorities and practices that dominated his world and led to great suffering. His followers formed as a community in the process of carrying out that work. While the community of empowered faithful followers was his legacy, Jesus’ central mission was opposing the broader evils of his world and offering a radical but hopeful alternative. That mission then fell to his followers after his death.
For most of its existence, the Church has made itself the focus of its work. We strive to perfect the Realm of God within our communities, and we invite people to join us. This emphasis on the Church as being the primary work of the Church has altered the essential nature of our faith; it has made us self-absorbed and left us distanced from the damage being done by the broader forces of systemic exploitation. If the Church is not actively and ardently challenging the violent principles and practices of the world then it is passively supporting them.
To live out Jesus’ mission, we must find ways to center our efforts in the work of social justice in the world beyond our doors, prioritizing the needs of the “least of these” in our global family. We must move beyond the safe shores of charity and enter into the conflict-laden work of challenging and changing the violence-based system of order to which we have all become accustomed.
To follow the logic of our mission then, we need to re-think the idea that the Church in all of its settings is primarily concerned with its members; replacing it with the goal of increasing our effectiveness in the work of externally focused justice. The members of the Church possess skills, financial and educational resources and most importantly they possess a worldview that places love (and not domination-based order) as the foundation of a truly human community. These are assets that we are called to employ in God’s work of transforming the world.
Though there is good work for justice being done in our conference, the implication of our budget priorities is that the work of the PNC is overwhelmingly focused on the members of the PNC. Social justice focused on those outside of the membership of the PNC seems to be a minor concern. If we are to reorganize our conference to be more just, then the central question is how do we best utilize the resources of the PNC to do the work of justice in the world? How do we make the congregations of the PNC into engines of justice in their own settings and how can we unite our voices and actions across the conference to have a broader impact?
It will be a challenge to transform our congregations and conference. It starts with rethinking the needs of the congregation. Traditionally, a pastor is someone who prioritizes the internal life of the congregation. We have to ask ourselves, whose leadership role is centered on guiding the congregation in the work of justice outside its walls? How does the use of our resources reflect which role is more important?
We think of a conference minister as one whose primary work is the care of the congregations and people of the conference. We need conference staff who are primarily focused on improving our effectiveness to do justice. We think of our camps as places to enhance our spiritual growth. We need common resources to enhance the work of justice. Every three years pastors in this conference are required to repeat the same lessons on maintaining healthy boundaries between themselves and the members of their congregations. There is no requirement that pastors or anyone else ever learn how to effectively lead their congregations in the work of justice.
The work of justice should not be something we support when time and resources are available nor should it be something we farm out to outside agencies or the national setting of the denomination. We need to make justice the center of who we are and what we do as people of faith. Local church pastors and conference staff do the work they were hired to do. We need new job descriptions. More than that, we need to understand that we do not hire leaders to do justice for us but to empower and equip us to be leaders for justice in the wider world.
It is my hope that if we take the focus off ourselves as being the center of our mission and instead focus on those who are suffering the greatest harm, we will have priorities that will guide us through any internal disagreements and unite us for the sake of a greater vision and mission.
I think I can speak for my congregation when I say we would be pleased to participate in a broader discussion of how best to faithfully transform what it means to be a part of the Pacific Northwest Conference.
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Rev. Richard Gamble (he/him)Pastor, Keystone United Church of Christ (www.keystoneseattle.org)Executive Director, Justice Leadership Program (www.justiceleadership.org)206 632-6021
