“We face a choice…

Submitted by Kathleen on July 7, 2008 - 5:21pm.

...between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where group selfishly protect their own benefits." (Newsweek columnist Robert J. Samuelson)

Protestants for the Common Good (PCG) was founded in 1995 out of a concern that groups from the Christian Political Right (e.g. the Christian Coalition) were portraying themselves as speaking on behalf of ALL Christians on matters of public policy. As a Christian and as a social worker, I had already begun to grapple with these issues on my own. I still remember receiving PCG’s initial mailing, sending in my small contribution, and being grateful that there was an organization ready to serve as a resource for people like me! Twelve years later, here I am, serving PCG as a Beatitudes Summer Fellow.

Times have changed, but Protestants for the Common Good has remained true to its mission of educating and mobilizing people of faith “to participate in political democracy for the sake of social justice and the beloved community.” There are seven items on the Common Good Agenda: Faith and Democracy; Faith and Economic Justice; Faith and Public Education; Faith and Health Care; Faith and Criminal Justice; Faith and America’s Position in the World; and Faith and The Environment. Faith and the Environment is the newest of these, and is the focus of my work and learning this summer.

Over the past three weeks, I have been immersed in reading about global warming, and have been struck by the impact of human choice--even on something so immense. The consequences of our past choices are painfully obvious. However, we still have crucial choices to make: as individuals, as churches, and as a society. Will we choose the common good? More reflections on this to come…

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