Information provided by Shannon Beck, Our Redeemer’s Social Justice Coordinator

If you want to get an earful, just ask a team of social justice advocates to stay home for a few weeks. It can feel like being asked to disengage from the work we feel matters most. This is our calling as faithful social justice advocates. And sometimes, we are NOT to be messed with. Although staying home does not feel particularly satisfying, there are many things we can do from the comfort of our couch. Consider using this time as an opportunity to expand your wheelhouse of options. Perhaps one of these:

• Speak up about racism associated with the virus. People are concerned for their safety.

• Report price gouging https://www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint.

• Support local businesses that are still open or who are doing online shopping and delivery.

• Sign this petition to address the COVID-19 crisis for people experiencing homelessness: https://p2a.co/9k9aJho

• Donate food or money to the Ballard Food Bank. If you feel comfortable, volunteer. https://www.ballardfoodbank.org/

• Call your senators to demand a moral stimulus that speaks to the needs of all people. People before profit! 855-999-1663

• Read/educate yourself. Here are a few excellent choices which I would be happy to loan if you cannot find them at a local bookstore.

• The autobiography of Dorothy Day: The Long Loneliness. A fascinating look at the Catholic Worker Movement and the life of Dorothy Day.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Strength to Love. This collection of MLK’s letters and speeches is life changing.
• Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow. Find out what all the conversation is about regarding mass incarceration. This is an intense read, but well worth it.
• Soong-Chan Rah: Prophetic Lament. Rah is an important voice for the church today and as powerful in person as his books. It is a study of Lamentations.
• Desmond Tutu: No Future Without Forgiveness. This book is his account of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. 
• Miguel A. De La Torre: Doing Christian Ethics from the Margin. This academic book will give you new language to talk about faith and justice.

Let Shannon know if you are interested in participating in a Social Justice book study  and which are most compelling to you,  outreach@ourredeemers.net.