Proudly Serving in the War on Injustice

Happy New Year — and yes, I mean that with my whole heart, even knowing how much we are walking into.

January handed us a lot. New Year’s Day. Epiphany. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. And a political landscape that requires us to pay attention and respond.

Which is exactly why I want to tell you about a shirt.

On a civil rights trip with our Great Plains Conference, I visited the Equal Justice Initiative store and found a shirt that stopped me cold. It read: Proudly serving in the war on injustice.

I know the word “war” gives some of us pause. I understand that. But I believe we are being called to be intentional right now — in our justice work, our justice efforts, and our justice actions. This is not a moment to sit back and see what happens.

During Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, I had the privilege of attending the annual SCLC celebration at St. James Church in Kansas City, one of our partners in Allies for Racial Justice. The keynote preacher, Pastor Emmanuel Cleaver III, said something I have not been able to shake: we are in the second civil rights movement.

He is right. And we are the church.

So here is what our Community Justice ministry is committing to in 2026: giving you real, practical opportunities to do justice in your own life. That means helping you stay registered and show up to vote. It means creating spaces to grow in cultural competency and understanding. It means connecting you to volunteer and service opportunities where you can meet the needs of our siblings who are struggling.

This is what it looks like to be the body of Christ. Scroll-dropping. Table-turning. Cross-bearing.

Are you ready? Let’s do it. Learn more at cor.org/justice.

Amen and amen.

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