"And what does the Lord require of you?
To do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"
~ Micah 6:8
To do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"
~ Micah 6:8
Welcome!
Welcome to the Westwood United Methodist Church Social Justice Team website! This is the place to learn about our team and the actions we've taken and plan to take to bring social justice to our community! You too can be a part of brining positive change to our community -- starting right here at Westwood! Take a look around -- we're glad you are here!
What is Social Justice?
That is a good question. Many people understand the ideas of charity or lending a helping hand but social justice is something different. Social justice is more than helping out someone in need; social justice gives that needy person a voice and the skills to help themselves and ultimately, change their condition. Sometimes this involves even distribution of items of necessity. It may involve helping a group of people learn how to advocate for themselves or work together to improve their community. Sometimes working for social justice means taking a look at societal norms or social policies which make it unreasonably difficult for people to meet their basic needs or provide for their family. Being charitable may mean rescuing person after person drowning in a river of injustice; social justice involves going up river to discover what is causing the people to fall into the river and need rescuing in the first place.
What does the Bible say about Social Justice?
Isaiah 42:1-4 - "I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nation...he shall not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth."
Encouragement to work for justice.
Psalm 146:5-7 - "Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God...who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry."
This verse suggests we as Christians are to participate in both charity ("gives food to the hungry") and justice ("executes justice for the oppressed").
Amos 5:24 - "But let justice roll on like a river; righteousness like a never-failing stream."
Think of the river, powerful and rolling, never ceasing. A river is used to generate power, to carry people and cargo and to provide life through water and fish. If the river were to dry up, the people depending on it would be devastated. The same can be said of justice -- it is great and powerful, bringing valuable resources to the people; if it dries up and is gone, many people will suffer.
Micah 6:8 - "And what does the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
What does the Lord require of you? To work for justice!
Psalm 33:5 - "The Lord loves righteousness and justice."
Do YOU love righteousness and justice?
Psalm 97:1-2 - "The Lord reins, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice...righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne."
The Lord uses righteousness and justice as a foundation of His Kingdom.
Matthew 23:23 - "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices...but you've neglected the more important matters of the law -- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former."
"a tenth of your spices" could be refering to the act of tithing. Just as is suggested in Isaiah 42, as Christians we should be concerned with both matters of charity and matters of justice.
Jeremiah 29:7 - "Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you from exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you to will prosper."
We can not truly prosper socially, economically and spiritually if there is social injustice in our community.
Encouragement to work for justice.
Psalm 146:5-7 - "Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God...who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry."
This verse suggests we as Christians are to participate in both charity ("gives food to the hungry") and justice ("executes justice for the oppressed").
Amos 5:24 - "But let justice roll on like a river; righteousness like a never-failing stream."
Think of the river, powerful and rolling, never ceasing. A river is used to generate power, to carry people and cargo and to provide life through water and fish. If the river were to dry up, the people depending on it would be devastated. The same can be said of justice -- it is great and powerful, bringing valuable resources to the people; if it dries up and is gone, many people will suffer.
Micah 6:8 - "And what does the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
What does the Lord require of you? To work for justice!
Psalm 33:5 - "The Lord loves righteousness and justice."
Do YOU love righteousness and justice?
Psalm 97:1-2 - "The Lord reins, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice...righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne."
The Lord uses righteousness and justice as a foundation of His Kingdom.
Matthew 23:23 - "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices...but you've neglected the more important matters of the law -- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former."
"a tenth of your spices" could be refering to the act of tithing. Just as is suggested in Isaiah 42, as Christians we should be concerned with both matters of charity and matters of justice.
Jeremiah 29:7 - "Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you from exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you to will prosper."
We can not truly prosper socially, economically and spiritually if there is social injustice in our community.
What Can I Do?
Getting involved is easy and there is much you can do! From something as simple as writing a letter to something as corageous as going to Lansing to voice your concern -- every level of involvement helps bring justice to our community. The Westwood Justice Team is part of ISAAC -- a faith-based community organizing agency which brings community members together and gives us the tools to make a positive difference in our own lives.
There is great power in many people working together for a common goal. You choose the level of participation you are comfortable with.
There is great power in many people working together for a common goal. You choose the level of participation you are comfortable with.
Why Should I Care?
Imagine a village on a river. Everyday the villagers go to the river to fish. One day, they go to the river and find a man floating in it, calling for help. The villagers pull him out and take them into the village, feed him, clothe him and care for him. The next day they discover three men in the river calling for help. The villagers rescue these men as well; feed them, clothe them and care for them. Each day, the villagers return to the river and discover more people: men, women and children, drowning in the river and calling for help. The villagers help all of them but soon realize they are exhausted and running out of resources. A wise old villager asks "why don't we go up river and find out why all these people are needing rescue from the river?"
So, a group of villagers go up river and discover there is a terrible king who is throwing his subjects into the river, not caring if they drown nor listening to their screams for help. A group of the king's subjects are watching their king throw people into the river. They tell each other how awful the situation is and how someone should do something to stop the king. But, none of them do anything at all. The villagers from down river are shocked at the actions of the king and the inaction of the king's subjects.
The villagers go back down river and hold a meeting with their community. Many of the villagers are concerned with what is happening to the people up river -- "there must be something we can do?", they say. "Why should we?" asks another villager, "it's sad but it's not my problem."
"That's not true," says another villager, "we are using up our resources helping these people; it is in our best interest to stop the king from throwing people into the river."
"Besides," says another villager, "God tells us it is our duty to help these people and also to combat injustice."
The villagers agree they should work together to stop the terrible king. They go up river and talk to the king's subjects and the villagers and the people of the kingdom work together to over throw the king and stop his unjust actions.
So, a group of villagers go up river and discover there is a terrible king who is throwing his subjects into the river, not caring if they drown nor listening to their screams for help. A group of the king's subjects are watching their king throw people into the river. They tell each other how awful the situation is and how someone should do something to stop the king. But, none of them do anything at all. The villagers from down river are shocked at the actions of the king and the inaction of the king's subjects.
The villagers go back down river and hold a meeting with their community. Many of the villagers are concerned with what is happening to the people up river -- "there must be something we can do?", they say. "Why should we?" asks another villager, "it's sad but it's not my problem."
"That's not true," says another villager, "we are using up our resources helping these people; it is in our best interest to stop the king from throwing people into the river."
"Besides," says another villager, "God tells us it is our duty to help these people and also to combat injustice."
The villagers agree they should work together to stop the terrible king. They go up river and talk to the king's subjects and the villagers and the people of the kingdom work together to over throw the king and stop his unjust actions.
