On Thursday, Feb. 2nd, nineteen Union Church folks joined over 900 people of faith from 44 congregations for a Greater Boston Interfaith Organization “action” at Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain. Together we pledged our commitment—and secured commitments from state and local officials—to meaningful action on three critical issues: affordable, accessible health care, affordable housing, and criminal justice reform.
After prayers and a rousing call to action, we heard presentations on the different issues and moving personal stories. We heard about a family being priced out of their beloved neighborhood; a young man’s life-threatening illness made manageable by the Affordable Care Act; and another man’s cruel experience in solitary confinement while incarcerated. Each story was an urgent reminder of what’s at stake in this uncertain and divisive political moment.
Present and accountable were Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg, Senators William Brownsberger and Sonia Chang-Diaz, and Boston City Councilors Andrea Campbell, Tito Jackson, and Ayanna Pressley. Each of them expressed deep respect and gratitude for GBIO,
and seemed to relish the challenges presented to them.
It feels good to make common cause with people who are different in so many ways, but whose motivation for action is the same: our sacred duty as believers to care for one another as God cares for us.
If you want to learn more about GBIO’s inspired agenda and perhaps get in on the action, speak to any of the 20 people who attended Bethel AME on Feb. 2: Pastors Stacy and Amy, GBIO liaisons Kathleen Hobson and Mark Smith, Nancy Zollers, Frank Laski, Soo Laski, Beth Sears, Gerry Elion, Brita Gill-Austern, Wanda Getchell, Bart Kelso, Priscilla Kelso, Kevin Johnson, Nancy Laste, Anya Bassett (and her friend Frank), Jaap van Reijendam, and Sandra DaDalt. Contact Kathleen Hobson ([email protected], 617-964-5848) if you’d like to see the handouts from the evening, which include action steps as well as information