Join Pastor Karen and other members of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective every Monday at 12:30 at the Free Speech Wall.
Following the lead of Rev. William Barber and Repairers of the Breach, we gather to bear witness for mercy and justice in our community and in the nation. We join with other leaders from around our country in nonviolent resistance against the extremism in our government. We call upon our elected leaders to enact moral budgets and policies that uplift the poor, welcome the immigrant, and care for the vulnerable in our communities.
We believe in a moral agenda that stands against systemic racism, exploitation, poverty, xenophobia, and any attempt to promote hate towards our fellow human beings. We are deeply disturbed by the actions and proposals of our political leaders that threaten this moral agenda by scapegoating the most vulnerable to enrich the most privileged.
Jesus calls us to care for and uplift the poor, not strip them of vital services and support. Throughout scripture, caring for the poor is central to what it means to be a person of faith.
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded, ‘Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.’
That means our immigrant neighbors. Our poor neighbors. Our Black, Brown, and Indigenous neighbors. Our trans and queer neighbors. Our neighbors of different faiths, different backgrounds, and different abilities.
All of our neighbors.
If any of our neighbors is suffering injustice, we all suffer.