100 Days of Following Micah

These 100 days have been full of rallies, and we’ve come to know well Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, Director of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, with whom we’ve had the privilege of partnering for several rallies. Rabbi Kimelman-Block always reminds us that “we are made for this moment.”

There is no doubt that Faith in Public Life was made for this moment. As Program Assistant at Faith in Public Life I’ve been able to see the wide-range of the work FPL has been involved in during these 100 days of justice. Every week, there have been press conferences, rallies, marches, sign-on statements, and prayer vigils. It has been 100 days in the spiritual practice modeled after Micah: doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.

As a Christian, I believe deeply that social justice is not just a political strategy or philosophy, but a spiritual practice. Social justice is a verb, it is something we do, something we create and something that we, as people of faith, do as an expression of our love for our God. A God who, for Christians, reminds us through Jesus to love our neighbor by speaking out and showing up.

Where I fully expected these 100 days to tear me down and wear me out, Faith in Public Life’s prophetic witness to our spiritual practice of social justice has built me up and kindled my fire for justice. I see now that whether or not our White House or Congress supports our moral priorities or recognizes the sacred wholeness of all people regardless of their religious affiliation, immigration status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, that we have power when we claim our moral voice.

It has been a profoundly powerful experience to witness clergy pray over Members of Congress demanding just immigration reform, to march on the Capitol demanding the renunciation of the Cabinet of Bigotry and Jeff Sessions’ nomination to Attorney General, and to sing through the halls of Congress calling for a moral revival that prioritizes health care for the sick and the poor. It has reignited my spiritual commitment that as we face setbacks we have raised our voice, built our power, and turned back the tide of fear and exclusion with a fierce desire to love and welcome all. I am deeply honored to be a part of the work of Faith in Public and eager to keep raising my voice for justice.