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Advocacy and Organizing as a Spiritual Practice
By Pr. Lisa Rygiel

Several people have asked me what I learned at my recent First Call conference that I attended in Utah. In going back through my scattered notes, here is what I have to share.

The topic of the conference was Advocacy and Organizing as a Spiritual Practice: Grounded in Love, Hope and Revolution.

The conference was led by the Revs. Brigette Weier and Leta Behrens. We also met with Progressive Clergy Coalition of Utah, Crossroads Urban Center, and Family Promise to see how they conduct their various ministries.

Background
According to our speakers, the word Advocacy (advocare Latin) means to add your voice. Organizing (organon Greek) means instrument or tool. The earliest use was in 1400’s organisen-to “furnish with organs” or construct a body for living, vital processes.

We add our voices for a living, thriving, flourishing body of people.

Meet Moses
Exodus 2: 11-15 – Moses was hiding in Midian after he murdered the Egyptian who beat a fellow Hebrew. The oppression and injustice kindled his anger.

Exodus 3 & 4 – Moses meets God in the Burning Bush, God challenges Moses to free his people.

“Is your anger a good thing?” Jonah 4: 2

Kat Armas, in her 40-day devotion book, Sacred Belonging, writes on anger on day 23. She writes, “Righteous anger leads to restoration and liberation. Our healing begins, but does not end, with anger. Righteous anger begins from within; it turns over tables and calls the powerful to account.”

We were challenged with the following questions:

  • How do we talk about anger in the Church?
  • How would you explain righteous anger?
  • Can anger be a quality of leadership?
  • How did God work through Moses’ anger?
  • Where do we see anger moved to action in the Bible and in our communities?
  • How can anger be an instrument of a living, vital body?

Advocacy: Righteous Anger to Hope
Advocacy is embodied, how we feel our feelings on what is happening in the world around us matters. Anger, despair, sorrow, or fear are opportunities to check in with our minds, bodies and spirits on why we are feeling the way we do, sit with it and decide how to react, cope, respond.

“Adding our voice” is not only our speech, but also our actions, as they can speak louder than words.

More questions were asked: When have you discovered this for yourself? How could this look in a congregational setting?

Congregations need outlets for righteous anger as well. As “grass top” leaders, we can model and connect folks with ways to express their anger in healthy, community building expressions. This is true for other “taboo” emotions such as fear, and deep sorrow.

Deeply understanding the culture of your congregation is essential. Hold small group gatherings on current events, bible studies on the social statements/messages, prayer vigils, meet with ecumenical or interfaith partners.

Organizing in Congregations and in the Community
Effective organizing is grassroot, driven by the people, the issue impacting them and a call to action.

Grass top leaders: nonprofit/NGO Executive directors, clergy, anyone who can mobilize and bring folks together. 

When people are committed to similar values, ideals, visions, mission, etc., it creates a sense of belonging.

Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.

Jesus calls us to belong, to find rest together in and as the body of Christ. When we are organizing as faith-based leaders and congregations, we are furnishing the body of Christ with capacity to flourish and thrive.

Advocacy Organizing Cycle in Congregations

  • Build Relationships
  • Identify Issues
  • Research Solution
  • Talking Action

Reflecting on the Process
In Faith-Based Organizing, Relationships are everything.

  • Community Awareness
  • Community Needs
  • Communication
  • Community Listening

Listening to God!

  • Listening in the congregation
  • Listening in and to the community
  • Listen without judgement
  • Listen without interrupting
  • Listen with an open heart and mind

Key principles for an effective action

  • Have a clear plan: when, where, who, why all need a clear answer
  • Assign roles: who is the decision maker on the day of? who will do social media, who will get the maps out, who will organize speakers, sound systems, permits, food, water, signs, music, safety team/protocols
  • Policy analysis: know the policy you want enacted, changed inside and out. Partner with policy organizations

Be Prepared: Key Principles for Effective Action
Safety Plans -- know your state’s firearm policies.

  • Know the possible counter protesters or groups known for agitation.
  • If arrest is possible, have contact numbers in permanent ink on your arm, know who your bail bond friends are.
  • Find Your People - Coalition building matters! Don’t go alone. Find other organizations and join together.

Reflection and Follow up
Following an action, reflect on the action taken:

  • What went well?
  • Was the message clear?
  • Did the media amplify?
  • Who showed up? Who didn’t?
  • Next steps?

Please let me know if you have a particular interest in this subject. We can talk about it.

Reformation Sunday, October 25

Announcements

  • Fellowship: Join us after worship Sunday for coffee & conversation in the Fellowship Hall as we honor the clergy members who support this congregation.
  • Reformation Sunday: This coming Sunday is Reformation Sunday. Plan to wear red as us acknowledge the Holy Spirit in our lives.
  • Dinner & A Movie: Next Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5:30 p.m., Zion’s has a special event planned. We will screen the movie The Shack. We will also have dinner and discussion. Dinner will be sandwiches, salads, and desserts (and, of course, popcorn for the movie). We look forward to seeing you there, and if you can bring a food item for dinner, please let Pr. Lisa or Jo Moss know.
  • Zion’s Book Club: Our Adult Study continues at 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday in the Fellowship Hall. Our next study is on Tuesday, Oct. 27 in the Fellowship Hall as we continue our discussion of the book, “What if Jesus was Serious about Prayer”.
  • We’re Getting Ready for Thanksgiving: Plans are underway to support the many tasks that are needed for our annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. This year, we will contract the cooking and carving of turkey and ham but need help with many other food items. We need people to help prepare potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and pies. We need people to help on Thanksgiving Day with serving food, delivering meals, serving and clearing tables for people dining in, and cleaning up, among other tasks. If you can help, please contact Norine Hazen or Pr. Lisa. They can direct you to the people who are heading each task. If you know someone who needs meals delivered, please share that information with Jo Moss.
  • We’re Here for You: For pastoral care, Pr. Lisa has office hours from 9 – 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and by appointment. Call Zion’s at 719-846-7785 or send an email to zionsluth@gmail.com. While she is out of town, call any council member for assistance.

E-Formation

During the sixteenth century, some German Lutheran churches celebrated an annual thanksgiving day for the Reformation, and in 1667 the festival was set for October 31 or the Sunday prior, since on this date in 1517 Martin Luther posted the Ninety-five Theses on the Wittenberg church door. The date on which to commemorate the life and achievements of Martin Luther is February 18, his death day in 1546. The point of the festival is the continuing need for perpetual reformation of all churches, rather than Lutheran self-congratulation.

John 8:31-36
It is not the church, or any one church, that is truth; rather, Jesus Christ is truth. No church can claim ownership of the word; rather, Jesus Christ is the Word. The son is free, that is, free to remain in the house. We gather around that word to receive the truth and experience life in the Father’s house.

Jeremiah 31:31-34
The oracle from Jeremiah is appointed because of its promise that God will continue a covenant of grace. Christians have seen that new covenant, and the forgiveness of sin and knowledge of God it brings, as embodied in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and renewed at the Supper — “the new covenant in my blood.”

Romans 3:19-28
This excerpt from Romans is appointed because it summarizes the biblical gospel so transformative for Martin Luther. It is faith in Christ that saves, not “law,” that is, religious practices stipulated in the Torah, nor by “boasting” in our church either. The church is called perpetually to renew its faith in God’s grace.

Zion's Lutheran Church
zionsluth@gmail.com
719-846-7785