ALLEGHENY CONFERENCE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOOMS FROM A MUSTARD SEED AND CULMINATES INAUGURAL YEAR WITH HOPE!

At the behest of the Allegheny Conference Presiding Elders, Rev. Dina L. Martin and Rev. William R. Hogans, and the leadership of Presiding Prelate Bishop W. Darin Moore, the Allegheny Conference Department of Social Justice was established in October 2023. The work of the department is orchestrated by Shirley A. Taylor, Conference Director; Larenda Hall, Coordinator of Churches; Lucille Prater-Holliday, Community Coordinator; Moses Nelson, Data Analysis & Statistical Reporting; and Rev. Mitzila Hogans, Spiritual Advisor.

ESTABLISHING THE FUNDAMENTALS
Recognizing that Jesus is the Supreme Seeker of Justice, the Word of God reveals there are two qualities that must be present in the pursuit of justice: “just behavior” (doing what’s right) and “just treatment” (doing what’s fair). This is the framework upon which the department decided to fulfill its assignment. Our first works largely focused on installing department fundamentals and educating the Conference on who we are and what we do as it relates to our Vision and Mission.

We adopted the motto, “When some are diminished – All are diminished.” Our department colors are the four primary colors that dominate Black History Month: Black to represent resilience, fairness, and balance, which are key principles of justice; Red to symbolize the blood that was shed by Jesus and the innocent Black lives throughout history for liberation that unites all people; Yellow, to convey optimism, justice, and equality, and Green to symbolize the rich greenery and other natural resources of the environment in the land God has given us.

We chose the department song “A Great Work” by Brian Courtney Wilson and the rally song “Keep the Faith” by Charles Jenkins. We decided on October as our Month of Observance to coincide with the commemoration of the work of James Varick, our Founder and first Bishop, whose acts for social justice established A.M.E. Zion as the Freedom Church. We believe our logo embodies every aspect of our vision and A.M.E. Zion’s reputation as the “Freedom Church”.

RESPONDING TO THE VISION
The A.M.E. Zion Churches are agents of social change because of our people’s longstanding encounters with injustice. This is not something we just say; it has been and continues to be our lived experience, even after over 75 years of failed civil rights legislation. We accept that just behavior and just treatment cannot be legislated. Therefore, it is our belief that the change we seek can only be attained through a change in hearts. It is this core principle that is the source of our vision, which is “To establish fair and equal justice through the transformation of hearts by promoting just behavior and just treatment in all that we do: as a Church, as Residents in the Community, as Participants in the Society, and as Representatives of Christ in the World.”

Our overall objective is to equip the people of God for life discipleship in the world and in the kingdom of God by transforming hearts in ways that can change the world. We believe transformation starts within the Body of Christ through the institution of complementary working relationships with departments whose ministries are about Kingdom Building. The departments we have deemed to be Transformational Ministries are Christian Education (reaching minds), the Lay Council (reaching Laity), and the Missionary Society (reaching the Masses).

RESPONDING TO THE MISSION
Our mission is “To champion the causes of Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity, and Equal Justice by addressing the systemic failures that adversely affect the quality of life for marginalized and working-class people. Our work is structured around the original initiatives of the first African Methodist Episcopal Church and is undergirded by six Pillars: Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Justice; Education Reform & Student Empowerment; Environmental Justice, Racial Equality & Responsive Government, and Voter Education & Empowerment. These categories represent the major areas that are the most contributory to injustices for people of color.

Each Pillar is designed to operate as its own “Think Tank” and consists of a dedicated Team whose responsibility is to bring the ministry’s social justice goals into concrete manifestations. Each Pillar is sanctioned by an operative scripture to serve as a beacon to keep us focused on the charge and to whom we seek to glorify. We also created a department resource guide to equip each local church with the tools needed to establish and maintain its own Social Justice ministry.

RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES FOR THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The department is active in all Project 100 initiatives. We publish educational materials to promote Mail-in Ballots and smart-voting, we initiated several letter-writing campaigns and participated in testimonials and Days-of-Action for Voting Rights and Voter Access. We partner with 16 social justice advocacy organizations and subscribe to multiple news sources, nationally and internationally, to stay abreast of current affairs.

For the final quarter, in February, we created a Black History Month Program for every local church. Components included weekly educational handouts of historical civil rights icons and a current-day Black leader. We sponsored a Black History T-shirt fundraiser and created a collective Commemorative Black History Program for the last Sunday, with a message about the Freedom Church and Congregants sporting their Black History T-shirts.

In March, we sponsored a Movie Night to commemorate the anniversary of “Bloody Sunday”. In addition to tasty hot dogs and a few healthy snack choices, attendees were educated on how far we have come with voting rights and how far we have yet to go. There were six voter resource areas accommodating voter registration, voter ID verification, mail-in ballot materials, sign-ups for rides to the polls in the Project 100 database, and more. The event was also designated as an official State of Union Watch Party location and was the only event in Allegheny County that was hosted in an African American community.

ON THE HORIZON FOR CY 2024-2025
Looking towards the new Conference Year, our immediate plans are to install a Social Justice Ministry in each local church in the Conference, execute GOTV strategies for the 2024 Presidential Election, and strengthen strategic relationships using a model we designed for Transformational Ministries. We aim to construct our own website, and through the inspiration of Presiding Elder William R. Hogans, we are changing our department song to the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. The original department song, “A Great Work,” will be adopted as our Theme Song.

It is with heartfelt gratitude that we thank Bishop Moore and the Presiding Elders of the Allegheny Conference for an assignment that allows us to be intentional Ambassadors for Christ. It is our prayer that the work sustains a pathway to “Train up the CHURCHES in the way THEY should go, and when THEY MATURE, they WILL NOT depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6 (SJV)*

* Social Justice Version