Advocacy
At Messiah we use the wise words of Micah 6:8 to guide how we serve our neighbors: "What does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
All faith communities walk humbly with God through worship and prayer while most engage in acts of kindness like feeding hungry people and participating in service projects. The unfortunate thing though is that so many people of faith miss the first part of Micah 6:8... doing justice. At Messiah we believe we must learn and advocate, always in a non-partisan manner, around issues of systematic injustice, especially for the most vulnerable folks in our society.
As a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we have a fantastic resource in ELCA Advocacy, which provides regular action alerts on important issues in a biblically-centered, non-partisan manner. We also partner with Bread for the World to work towards the day when all of God's children have enough to eat. On the local level, we support the New York State Council of Churches and Schenectady Community Ministries, particularly around issues of equitable public education funding.
#ForSuchATime
By invitation of our ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton and other notable faith leaders, some of our parishioners have to chosen to join an ecumenical season of prayer, fasting and advocacy called #ForSuchATime. Presiding Bishop Eaton has asked us to participate in this movement out of concern for proposed deep cuts to programs that are vital to hungry people struggling with poverty, especially children. On the 21st of each month through December of 2018 (the day of the month when food stamps usually run out), we're joining people of faith across the country in prayer, fasting and advocacy as we work to build a more moral, biblically centered society. Join Pastor Dustin in this important movement and to find out more click here.
Schenectady Clergy Against Hate
In response to the recent increase of hate crimes in our community and bullying in our school, Pastor Dustin has been quite active in Schenectady Clergy Against Hate since its inception this past fall, a non-partisan, multi-faith and interfaith coalition working to promote harmony, respect, and fellowship in the greater Schenectady area. Together, through a sharing of our unique and common religious teachings, we seek to foster understanding of one another. We are compelled through our various traditions to speak out against hatred, bigotry, and discrimination on the basis of appearance, race, ethnicity, country of origin, immigration status, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability status, or any other identity used to divide us.
Schenectady Clergy Against Hate works towards the following goals:
*To unify our diverse communities around our shared and common religious values;
*To advocate through our moral and religious teachings for a just and compassionate society;
*To create a unified pastoral voice to speak to our city and community against hatred;
*To confront actions which are rooted in bigotry;
*To promote unity and solidarity through respect and fellowship;
*To educate through our unique religious traditions on issues of conscience
If you'd like to find out more about Schenectady Clergy Against Hate, speak with Pastor Dustin or check out our Facebook Page.
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
All faith communities walk humbly with God through worship and prayer while most engage in acts of kindness like feeding hungry people and participating in service projects. The unfortunate thing though is that so many people of faith miss the first part of Micah 6:8... doing justice. At Messiah we believe we must learn and advocate, always in a non-partisan manner, around issues of systematic injustice, especially for the most vulnerable folks in our society.
As a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we have a fantastic resource in ELCA Advocacy, which provides regular action alerts on important issues in a biblically-centered, non-partisan manner. We also partner with Bread for the World to work towards the day when all of God's children have enough to eat. On the local level, we support the New York State Council of Churches and Schenectady Community Ministries, particularly around issues of equitable public education funding.
#ForSuchATime
By invitation of our ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton and other notable faith leaders, some of our parishioners have to chosen to join an ecumenical season of prayer, fasting and advocacy called #ForSuchATime. Presiding Bishop Eaton has asked us to participate in this movement out of concern for proposed deep cuts to programs that are vital to hungry people struggling with poverty, especially children. On the 21st of each month through December of 2018 (the day of the month when food stamps usually run out), we're joining people of faith across the country in prayer, fasting and advocacy as we work to build a more moral, biblically centered society. Join Pastor Dustin in this important movement and to find out more click here.
Schenectady Clergy Against Hate
In response to the recent increase of hate crimes in our community and bullying in our school, Pastor Dustin has been quite active in Schenectady Clergy Against Hate since its inception this past fall, a non-partisan, multi-faith and interfaith coalition working to promote harmony, respect, and fellowship in the greater Schenectady area. Together, through a sharing of our unique and common religious teachings, we seek to foster understanding of one another. We are compelled through our various traditions to speak out against hatred, bigotry, and discrimination on the basis of appearance, race, ethnicity, country of origin, immigration status, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability status, or any other identity used to divide us.
Schenectady Clergy Against Hate works towards the following goals:
*To unify our diverse communities around our shared and common religious values;
*To advocate through our moral and religious teachings for a just and compassionate society;
*To create a unified pastoral voice to speak to our city and community against hatred;
*To confront actions which are rooted in bigotry;
*To promote unity and solidarity through respect and fellowship;
*To educate through our unique religious traditions on issues of conscience
If you'd like to find out more about Schenectady Clergy Against Hate, speak with Pastor Dustin or check out our Facebook Page.