Social Justice Ministry
|
Why Does Immanuel Have a Social Justice Ministry? Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill’s history of social justice engagement dates to the 1960s and includes issues of civil rights. refugee resettlement, and ministry to Native Americans; a major financial and parish-wide commitment to outreach locally, regionally and internationally since the 1990s; and a strong and growing creation care ministry.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Immanuel's Vestry initiated a new social justice ministry, focused initially on racial justice and on looking inward, learning and dialogue. We had listening sessions with many people in the parish from diverse demographic backgrounds and political perspectives, and the Vestry made this a priority, creating a Vestry Steward position for Social Justice. It was clear from the beginning in Vestry discussions and listening sessions that while racial justice motivated the new ministry, there were other areas of social justice meriting engagement as well. Our current focus on criminal justice and mass incarceration embodies this concern for both racial justice (given severe racial disparities in criminal justice and incarceration) as well as concern for all those affected by the current system. What Is Our Vision for Social Justice? Immanuel’s commitment to social justice is grounded in our Baptismal covenant of “working for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every human being” and on Jesus’s commitment to love and justice for those marginalized by society. The Vestry’s vision for the social justice ministry is available HERE. Current Activities to Follow or Become Involved in: We focus on the following areas and activities: Monthly Social Justice Committee meetings; Coordination with Outreach; Criminal Justice Reform and Support to Those Affected by Incarceration; Learning Activities; Engagement with the Community and Other Houses of Worship. 
Monthly Social Justice Committee meetings:
Our social justice work is guided by the Social Justice committee which meets on every fourth Tuesday of the month from 7:30-9:00 PM usually both in-person and on Zoom. All parishioners are welcome to participate. Many committee meetings have participation by a clergy member and one or more members of the Outreach Committee. While this is just “a meeting,” it is this committee that guides the parish’s social justice engagement, activities, and priority setting, and advises and seeks input/approval from the Vestry as appropriate. 
Coordination with Outreach:
Coordination with Outreach is a strong element of the social justice ministry, with members of the Outreach leadership team participating on the Social Justice Committee. One difference in emphasis between outreach and social justice revolves around the Christian calls for mercy and justice. Much of Immanuel’s commitment to outreach focuses on mercy, on providing support to the many needs of those we are called to serve, and organizations that meet those needs, locally, nationally and internationally. The social justice ministry from the beginning has seen its work as building on and complementing Immanuel’s longstanding and very strong Outreach ministry, with some greater weight in the balance in part towards justice - identifying institutional, policy or legal impediments to racial and social justice which Immanuel may be called to address. Thanks to strong support from the Outreach Committee and from the Christmas Families program, to the Vestry’s new (since 2021) budget line for Social Justice, and to the Episcopal Church’s seed grant to Immanuel, overall parish support to criminal justice and to those affected by incarceration more than tripled between 2019/20 to 2022, with most of this increase due to generous Outreach committee support. In addition, the social justice committee has been able to introduce the parish to new potential outreach partners (most recently Friends of Guest House, a ministry of transitional housing and support to women coming out of incarceration). 
Criminal Justice Reform and Support to Those Affected by Incarceration:
As a parish it was clear from the beginning of the new Social Justice Ministry that while we needed to continue to learn, tell the truth, proclaim the dream and look inward at ourselves and the institutions of which we are part, we also needed to begin taking action in an outward direction, as well. This has led to a focus on criminal justice and mass incarceration. The Rector’s letter in 2022 lays out how and why Jesus calls us to care about and minister to those who are in prison. The social justice issues of racial justice and care for those marginalized by society come together in the current criminal justice system, a system that Jesus specifically addressed when he called on us to care about those in prison (Mat 25) and saw himself as fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy to “set the captives free.” With the highest percentage of incarcerated people in the world, with one in five people having been caught up in the criminal justice system, and with severe racial disparities in arrest and sentencing, the US criminal justice system is widely seen across the political spectrum as being in need of reform. At the same time, those currently incarcerated, and their families, need our prayers and support. A $6,000 “seed grant” from the national Episcopal church’s “Becoming Beloved Community” grant program helped develop our criminal justice/incarceration initiative. Available here are the grant proposal, grant, interim report and final report are available on line. That grant has enabled learning, advocacy, and support to those affected by incarceration. Learning: The grant enabled and encouraged us to build on other social justice learning activities (such as Sacred Ground) with deeper and more focused learning regarding criminal justice, through the following activities:
Advocacy: The learning opportunities enabled by the grant have led us also into discussions of advocacy with the Vestry. As a result of extensive discussions within the social justice committee through much of 2021 and then with the Vestry in Fall 2021, the Vestry approved a resolution supporting and outlining approaches to social justice advocacy on behalf of Immanuel, with a focus on state, local, and/or regional issues. In 2022, the Vestry approved specific advocacy around one key area of criminal justice reform in Virginia: eliminating prolonged solitary confinement which the national Episcopal church (2019 policy), many other denominations and the United Nations oppose as a form of torture. Our main advocacy partner is the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. In January 2022, several parishioners, in collaboration with other Northern Virginia houses of worship (including in particular Alleyne AME Zion church) engaged via Zoom with several members and staff of the Virginia legislature on issues of solitary confinement, cash bail, and counsel at first court appearance, all potential priorities by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. As VICPP refined these priorities, with a focus for 2022/23 on limiting solitary confinement, the Social Justice committee prepared, with other nearby churches to participate with VICPP in its January 2023 “Day for All People” in Richmond, January being the key month for advocacy given Virginia’s very short annual legislative session. The summary of our participation in the “Day for All People” in January 2022 is here. Support to Prisoners, Those Leaving Incarceration, and Their Families: Longstanding parish outreach partner OAR (Offender Aid and Restoration) and new partner Alleyne AME Zion church helped us better understand where we might best engage in support for those directly affected by incarceration. This support has taken the following forms: ● Support to OAR’s mission to help those in jail/prison and those transitioning back into the community, specifically:
● Exploration and financial support to several other ministries supporting incarcerated people and returning citizens: Kairos Virginia and the Chaplain of the Arlington County Jail. There are many ways for Immanuel parishioners, even with very limited time commitment, to get involved in supporting people caught up in the system and advocating for a more just system. You can find how you might consider getting involved HERE. 
Other Social Justice Learning Activities:
Learning activities are occasional or ongoing, as noted in the section below on Start Up Activities in 2021. So far we have had three Sacred Ground learning and dialogue circles on racial history and racial justice from a faith perspective; a number of forum hours and movie showings (noted at right), several events to learn more about racial and social justice history in Alexandria; and other learning activities. Learning continues to be a significant social justice focus. 
Engagement with the Community and Other Houses of Worship:
The national church criminal justice grant and the parish’s criminal justice/incarceration initiative have also led us into wider engagement in the local community. The grant provided a focus to deepen an already nascent relationship with a nearby African-American parish (Alleyne AME Zion church). That relationship then led both parishes into extended dialogue with various community organizations and officials. Alleyne helped us and joined us as we both entered into dialogue with local law enforcement authorities that Alleyne’s ordained Minister for Outreach already knew by virtue of her earlier work as a probation officer. These include Alexandria’s Sheriff, Commonwealth’s Attorney, and public defender. In turn, we helped the new Alleyne pastor establish relationships with ALIVE (the local faith based umbrella social services agency in Alexandria) and with VICPP. The pastor of Alleyne also facilitated a discussion on racial justice and incarceration in the showing at Immanuel of Ava Duverney’s movie, 13th. Voter Registration: We invited other local congregations to that movie showing (facilitated by barbeque paid for by the grant) and that led to discussions with those other congregations of the possibility of doing voter registration together in anticipation of the November 2022 election, using our parish’s annual very popular Pumpkin Patch (a large month-long event that engages much of the local community and beyond and raises roughly $90,000 for our outreach programs) as the venue. In the end four houses of worship joined with us in planning and/or implementing the voter registration drive. (In addition to Alleyne AME Zion, these included Washington Street United Methodist Church (UMC), Roberts Memorial UMC, and Temple Beth-El.) We anticipate that this has laid the groundwork for other interfaith social justice initiatives in Alexandria. Chaplaincy with Alexandria Police Department. In addition to these community engagements facilitated by the grant, our Rector entered into dialogue with the new Chief of Police (himself also lead pastor of a nearby African American parish, Oakland Baptist Church.) Their dialogue focused on the need for local police officers to have access to chaplains on a regular basis, and the Rector has lined up a number of people from several congregations (including Alleyne AME Zion) to serve in that role. Background: Start-Up Activities and Commitments in 2021:: The year 2021 was the first full year of the Social Justice ministry. During this time we started “Telling the Truth” and “Proclaiming the Dream.” You can see annual reports HERE. A Social Justice committee formed to identify and implement priorities intended to carry social justice and Becoming Beloved Community into the fabric of every aspect of parish life and of who we are as a parish.
In 2021, we created several learning and dialogue spaces. Twenty- five parishioners (including one of our three clergy and both Social Justice Co-Stewards) have participated in the national Episcopal Church program of parish-based Sacred Ground dialogue circles looking deeply at the racial history of the United States and exploring family history and identity in dialogue. A second of our three clergy led a Bible study on conquest, respect for racial differences and indigenous people, feminist theology, and criminal justice And a number of parishioners participated in Alexandria City Councilman Chapman Manumission Tours of some of the hidden racial history of the city. These activities have created a core of people eager to take this ministry more broadly into the parish. Additional events took place to more fully integrate social justice into the fabric of Immanuel, including forum hours on: the theological underpinnings of the civil rights movement (by Father Randy); parishioners' experience with Sacred Ground and the social justice book study; falsehoods involved in the sometimes worshipful status that Robert E. Lee continues to hold, by U.S. Army General (ret.) Ty Seidule; and on language, gender, race and worship (the Rev. Dr. Frank Wade). The anniversary of the murder of George Floyd was commemorated with the unveiling of a new banner outside at Immanuel ("Love Your Neighbor/Fight Racism"), and with a service of remembrance. We are also developing or deepening what we hope will be long-term social justice partnerships, including Offender Aid and Restoration, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and Alleyne AME Zion Church, among others. |
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Feel free to join our monthly social justice committee meeting on the fourth Tuesday throughout the year, from 7:30-9:00 p.m. ALL are welcome! You can also get involved through learning, prayer, and action focused on criminal justice: LEARN: Participate in upcoming social justice ministry events and forum hours (see Immanuel's calendar HERE). PRAY: Pray for those you know – police, attorneys and judges, prisoners and their families, policymakers, those facing arrest or trial, and anyone else part of the system. Pray for wisdom and discernment to those of us already involved in this Ministry and for yourself and others who God may be calling to it. To pray for prisoners in the criminal justice system, consider joining virtual prayer teams at Kairos and Prison Fellowship. ACT: Mentor, encourage, or support those coming out of jail or prison by volunteering with Guest House, Samaritan Ministry, or Offender Aid and Restoration. Advocate for a more just and effective criminal justice system by getting involved with other Immanuelites who are part of the criminal justice education and advocacy efforts of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. RESOURCES, LEARNING, and FORUM HOURS The following Forum Hours or related events on Social Justice have taken place:
2022:
2021:
|