September 2007 - Consistent Christians
Consistent Christians
From the Executive Director, The Rev. Anne S. Howard
Dear friends,
“Consistent Christians” - this is what one of our Summer Fellows calls a person of faith who is engaged in social change. Reflecting on his work this summer as an intern at The Regeneration Project, Jeff Gottlieb talked about faith as being integral to social justice advocacy?and vice versa. His words describe the Beatitudes world we are working to build.
“I do not think one can call themselves a consistent Christian and not be a part of social change benefiting the poor, marginalized, and endangered. Various groups of Christians have been intimately involved with the major social movements such as slavery and civil rights in America’s past and I see no reason why that participation should only be read about in history books. The issue of global warming, which I worked on this summer, presents itself as one of the major issues confronting us today. I see my generation’s attention to and involvement in this as more than necessary. We have the power to change things for the health and well-being of our progeny and our world. As Christians we are morally obligated to do our part in bringing about that change.”
Jeff is one of the twelve remarkable emerging leaders who spent the summer “being the change they want to see” as Fellows of The Beatitudes Society. These divinity school students spent their summer learning not only about social justice advocacy, but also about their own beliefs and expectations for their futures.
In weekly theological reflection sessions that provided the “glue” for the summer, the Fellows talked about their work, faith, politics and passions. These rich sessions gave the students a deepened understanding of their core beliefs, political insights and future direction. Thanks go to our two fine mentors: Leslie Woods in Washington DC, Domestic Poverty and Environmental Issues Director for the Presbyterian Church USA, and Del Brown in San Francisco, Dean Emeritus of Pacific School of Religion.
Wellstone Action also provided Camp Wellstone, a two-day training in community organizing, offering the Fellows an understanding of power and building community relationships to effect change.
We need more “consistent Christians” who are willing to change the world! Next summer, we hope to expand our number of Fellows from 12 to 20, and send a group to Chicago. With YOUR help, and a growing circle of Friends of The Beatitudes Society, we can do this.
So I ask of you three things:
- Help us grow with your donation. Click Here
- Share this newsletter with a friend by sending them the link to this page
- And enjoy reading the comments from our 2007 Fellows below.
In God’s peace and joy, Anne
| Beatitudes Society Fellows that Served in San Francisco Bay Area, CA | |
Ryan Dowell-Baum, Oakland Community Organizations (PICO) |
"My faith grew tremendously through my interaction with the other Beatitudes Society Fellows as weekly I engaged them in matters of spiritual and theological import. I was challenged by many of them to think deeper about my fundamental beliefs and to articulate them more clearly, and I believe that I grew in Christian love as I learned to respect and appreciate those with whom I didn’t always agree." |
Justin R. Cannon, United Religions Initiative |
"Working in an interfaith environment has helped me to reflect critically upon what I believe and how that intersects with the other religions of the world." |
Audrey deCoursey, The Regeneration Project |
"[The weekly mentoring sessions were] the glue that brought the Fellowship together. It helped put the work I did at the individual organization into its wider perspective in the prophetic Christian movement."
"[Through my Fellowship] I was strengthened in my conviction that people of faith must come together across their religious differences, and not just for the sake of interfaith fellowship, but to address the real concerns facing our shared world. This internship affirmed my belief in the power and centrality of the congregation as political entity." |
Jeff Gottlieb, The Regeneration Project |
"The work that our faith calls us to do is not confined to church walls, but rather propels us to engage with others of dissimilar backgrounds and traditions. For me, the Fellowship was tremendously worthwhile because I’d been considering working for a non-profit but didn’t know much about how that kind of work is conducted or where to find those organizations. The Beatitudes Society Fellowship enabled me to explore both."
"I thought the first session [of Camp Wellstone] on power was especially insightful and worthwhile. It forced me to confront issues surrounding power that I didn’t know I had and deal with them in a critical way." |
Ashley Wright, United Religions Initiative |
"Working one-on-one with people from different cultures and religions from around the world that are dedicated to working for cultures of peace and justice in the world has truly inspired me to strengthen my own dedication to these causes. It is always an inspiring thing to know that there are many others that are dedicated to the things you’re passionate about and that you are not alone in this work." |
| Beatitudes Society Fellows that Served in Washington, DC | |
Barbara Calvin, Children's Defense Fund |
"I’ve always been concerned about how to theologically blend faith and advocacy work and still stay true to my walk with Christ. Sometimes it seems the cause gets disconnected from the theology, especially when we start demonizing the people that don’t agree with us. [The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference] showed me the importance of taking time to focus on why we do what we do. “Speaking truth to power” has always been part of my sense of call. CDF was a good opportunity work with an organization that has successfully blended faith and politics and takes the time to stay true to the reason why they exist." |
Justin Harkins, Episcopal Public Policy Network |
"My faith was integral to my experience. As a theology student in an office whose staff is largely politically trained, I was called upon to explore the theological meaning behind the work we are doing. It was a challenging task, as I am very much still exploring my personal faith, but I believe the office was able to help me as much as I was able to help it." |
Emily Kuhn, Bread for the World |
"Working and living in DC gave me an opportunity to understand the politics surrounding the lives of poor and hungry people, and I will be a better pastor because of this internship. I was able to be creative, felt trusted with my creativity, and felt like I was contributing to a real need of the organization." "I had to keep asking myself, 'For what things do we, as people concerned for social justice, need to ask God? For what things do we hope?' The answers to these questions are the most fundamental expressions of my faith." "I plan to be ordained and to work in a parish. This experience has only strengthened that call. The Fellowship experience has, however, put a twist on my sense of call. I need to work at a church that is willing to grapple with and engage in issues of social justice and advocacy."
|
Leigh Rogers, Sojourners |
"I would recommend [The Beatitudes Society Fellowship] to other seminarians because seminaries, rather than secular colleges, hold the future of the faith movement in their institutions, and are paving the way for talking about faith and justice."
"I learned how to call other organizations effectively, speak to people about faith and values, learned the best strategies and tactics for getting people excited about the social justice movement." |
Kini Spady, African American Ministers Leadership Council (PFAW) |
"Interning at PFAW has confirmed for me that my faith in God compels me to continue to support everyone’s right to love, to be loved and to be treated fairly. Interning at PFAW has also confirmed how important it is for ministers, especially African American ministers, to get involved with advocacy organizations regardless of their personal beliefs and biases in reference to separation of church and state." |
Krista Stevens, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good |
"One of the most valuable pieces of the Fellowship [were the relationships that developed]. It’s nice to know that there are other people working for the same things that you are. I was able to work with an organization that I feel like I’ll keep in contact with. It was also good to get to learn about the other Fellowship organizations and what they do. I know that there are resources out there to help in social justice work." "What this Fellowship has opened me to is that there are other ways to use my theology in the social justice realm. My past ministry and field-ed experiences have focused primarily on the “pastoral” components of the theology degree, but the pastoral work doesn’t often challenge the structures and systems that create the situation that calls for pastoral care in the first place. A lot of the work that I was doing this summer allowed me to use my theology education in justice-oriented ways."
|
Matthew Sudnik, Faith in Public Life |
"I wanted to learn more about organizing and media outreach this summer. This is exactly what I learned. The skills I received at Faith in Public Life will make me a better organizer, community leader, citizen activist. I also gained a richer view of the work of progressives with religious communities. I became less cynical about politics and religion and saw how mainstream voices are working together for constructive change." |
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