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BY MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF

The church might be “non-profit,” but it dare not be “non-prophet,” social justice advocates in the Baltimore-Washington Conference are declaring.

In the minds of many Christians, silence can equal sin. This is especially true in the arena of social advocacy, where people of faith are called to speak out and act for the poor and marginalized to ensure justice, said Sandra Ferguson, director of the Grow Missions team of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

“As United Methodists it’s in our lifeblood,” Ferguson said. “We’re bound together in the belief, ‘there is no religion but social religion, no holiness but social holiness.’ Our connectional system binds us together in faith and service.”

To help equip congregations in their efforts to be advocates for justice, the conference has been providing a series of training opportunities and other resources.

The conference advocacy consultant, Beth Reilly, was the plenary speaker at the Washington Region Leadership Days Jan. 29.

“We not just called to talk about justice. We’re not called to think about justice, nor to study justice, nor preach justice. The Bible tells us to do justice, said Beth Reilly. “Think about justice and then do justice. Study justice and then do justice. Preach justice and then do justice. Scripture commands us to do.”

In the advocacy arena, doing justice means “entering into the public conversation about issues of concern to the poor, marginalized and others who might have less of a voice than we do to encourage lawmakers to consider the moral and social implications in their legislative decision-making process, Ferguson said. “The church should continually exert a strong ethical influence upon the state, supporting policies and program deemed to be just and opposing those that are unjust.”

“The Scriptures challenge us to do justice, to establish the heavenly norm or pattern on earth. United Methodists take that challenge seriously,” Reilly said.

“When a poor person dies of hunger, it’s not because God didn’t take care of him, but because you and I didn’t take care of him,” she continued, challenging the church to think even bigger, moving beyond acts of charity to acts of justice. “

Serving as a bridge between society and the Kingdom of God, can be as complex or as easy as a church makes it, said Reilly, who laid out a four-part process for doing justice.

Every advocacy effort starts with a vision for change, she said. As individuals or a committee, write down your dream. Then, devise a strategy and build a coalition that will enable you to act. Your strategy might include letter writing, boycotts, marches, visits with law makers, letters to the editor of a number of other of means of making your voice, and your dream, heard. The third task is acting – putting plans into effect and the fourth is assessment. Was your goal reached? What is the next step?

In today’s culture, it doesn’t take a lot, especially when people join together. A recent study of showed that it only takes five to seven hand-written letters to get a legislator’s attention. “That’s one Sunday School class,” Reilly said. “If you equip people with fact and give them steps to action and opportunities to act,” you’ll be surprised at the enthusiastic results.

This winter, the Baltimore-Washington Conference will be focusing on advocacy efforts in the Maryland State Legislature. Its priorities include combating the use of the death penalty, stopping the spread of gambling, ending human trafficking, providing health care for all, ensuring affordable housing and reforming immigration.

For more information on advocacy and action alerts, visit www.bwcumc.org/content/legislative-advocate or contact Reilly at .