Haydenville Congregational Church is committed to social justice work. On Sunday, March 26, Doug Renick offered this message about the social justice mission as part of opening words.

Friends, the following two passages are the foundation of our peace and justice work here at HCC:

From Matthew 25 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

‘Come, you that are blessed by God, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’… ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Micah6:8 NRSV

God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Jesus and the Hebrew prophets. They are the foundation.

Now here is a short piece by John Platt an environmental journalist that expresses clearly key learnings from acting together to bring more peace and justice into the world.

“A recent poll found that people today, especially younger people, feel helpless when it comes to fighting climate change.

“Here’s the thing: That’s exactly how polluting corporations want you to feel. The more people believe their actions don’t matter, the more they find themselves rolling over and accepting the status quo.

“Yes, solving the climate crisis requires bold action from governments and corporations, but that doesn’t mean individuals have to sit on the sidelines. Not only do our actions add up and influence others, we also have the ability to push for — and demand — systemic change.  (Chase Bank – Stop funding fossil fuels!)

“And that push, importantly, can help turn our individual feelings of hopelessness around. Psychologists and climate activists tell us we can go from feeling helpless or hopeless about the future and toward a more positive, productive attitude just by taking a few steps forward.

“Done correctly, these steps we take can also create a momentum for the future. As scientist Katharine Hayhoe wrote last month: ‘If we wait for someone else to fix the problem, we’ll never solve it. But when we raise our voices to call for change, when we take action together — that’s when we find that hope is all around us.””

The purpose of the Peace and Justice Steering Committee (P&JSC) at HCC is to help all us to become aware of issues that need addressing and then enabling us to take informed action together that is a contribution to bringing more peace and justice into the world while generating more hope for the future. 

May it be so!

Doug Renick