our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is

The Adult Christian Formation Opportunity at Christ Episcopal Church Matagorda has prioritized the bullets from the Bishop’s list and we are working through them one at a time as a part of our exercises to be better able to share the faith.

The group chose 3rd : “• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:”

Try for yourself--

Complete the following:

(extra credit for short answers using only terms a seeker would understand in their ordinary every-day sense.)

"This unique Episcopal witness is articulated through the words of our Baptismal Covenant:"

• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:

The reference materials consulted were:

Celebrant Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

People I will, with God’s help

Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

People I will, with God’s help. BCP 304

 &

Q. What is the ministry of the laity?

A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church. BCP 855

The Class identified the three themes of the statement as:

social advocacy – Calling independent and disconnected people into Community.

cultural advocacy – Calling all Communities to reflect God’s grace.

just action – Turning thought and talk into deeds.

We recognized first that human groupings are not inherently virtuous. Street Gangs and Lynch Mobs are technically “social” but are not worthy of our advocacy as Christians.

The gathering of people into community must therefore be centered on a virtuous core. The Church of Jesus Christ, sustained by The Holy Spirit is the best choice of a virtuous core to gather people into community.

All human communities, even the Church, will be in need of continuous reconciliation and reform to counteract the entropic forces of human brokenness and sin. No community is so virtuous as to be exempt from this, and no community – not even Street Gangs and Lynch Mobs -- is so corrupt that Christ cannot redeem the members.

We identified the greatest enemy to both Social and Cultural Advocacy as intimidation. When we see the right, but hesitate to speak the right and do the right, we fail. Intimidation was recognized as a species of Fear, which is the absence of Faith.

The hardest component of Just Action is not knowing what is Just or knowing when action is called for, the hardest part is overcoming intimidation and Just Acting!

So our answer was:

• our work in social and cultural advocacy and just action is:

• v  We must call all persons (especially those unlike ourselves) to gather before the Cross of Christ.
• v  We must work, again and again, to turn every community in which we find ourselves toward the Cross.
• v  We must stand to our Faith and reject fear in order to be ready to engage boldly in Just Action.

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