Justice and Witness Ministries
Encyclopedia
Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) is one of five covenanted ministries of the United Church of Christ
. JWM is responsible for national office ministries related to four areas: economic justice; "human rights
, justice for women and transformation;" "public life and social policy;" and "racial justice".
The justice page of the UCC homepage reports the statement that "Doing justice, seeking peace and building community are central to the identity of the United Church of Christ," although no formal resolution of synod has ever made this declaration of denominational identity.
. JWM is also affiliated with:
The current Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries is Ms. M. Linda Jaramillo.
The JWM has four teams:
Bernice Powell Jackson was the Executive Minister of JWM from the creation of the post in 1999 (during the UCC National office reorganization) until 2005. Prior to leaving the UCC, Bernice Powell Jackson was elected in 2004 as the President of the North American Region of the World Council of Churches
http://www.wcc-usa.org/about-us/us-board/bernice-powell-jackson.html http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_14_121/ai_n6145293.
, especially ones dealing with perceived justice issues of the day. JWM also maintains an office called "Minister for Children, Families and Human Sexuality Advocacy" that promotes the Our Whole Lives
sex education
curriculum.
Their web presence is as follows:
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
. JWM is responsible for national office ministries related to four areas: economic justice; "human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, justice for women and transformation;" "public life and social policy;" and "racial justice".
The justice page of the UCC homepage reports the statement that "Doing justice, seeking peace and building community are central to the identity of the United Church of Christ," although no formal resolution of synod has ever made this declaration of denominational identity.
Locations and organization
In addition to its offices in Cleveland, JWM also maintains an office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. JWM is also affiliated with:
- Franklinton Center at Bricks, a conference, retreat, and educational facility in eastern North Carolina with a focus on justice advocacy and leadership development.
- Centro Romero, a border immersion Center focusing on issues of globalization, economic policy, immigration and community empowerment in San Ysidro, CA.
- Pilgrim Firs, a space for studying environmental justice that is part of a partnership with the Pacific/Northwest Conference of the United Church of Christ.
The current Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries is Ms. M. Linda Jaramillo.
The JWM has four teams:
- Economic Justice Ministry Team
- Human Rights, Justice for Women, and Transformation Ministry Team
- Racial Justice Ministry Team
- Public Life and Social Policy Ministry Team -- (based in Washington, D.C)
Bernice Powell Jackson was the Executive Minister of JWM from the creation of the post in 1999 (during the UCC National office reorganization) until 2005. Prior to leaving the UCC, Bernice Powell Jackson was elected in 2004 as the President of the North American Region of the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
http://www.wcc-usa.org/about-us/us-board/bernice-powell-jackson.html http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_14_121/ai_n6145293.
Relationship to other bodies within the UCC
JWM regularly sponsors General Synod resolutionsResolutions of the United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a Christian denomination. Periodically, bodies within the United Church of Christ issue resolutions for various reasons. These statements may or may not be representative of the United Church of Christ...
, especially ones dealing with perceived justice issues of the day. JWM also maintains an office called "Minister for Children, Families and Human Sexuality Advocacy" that promotes the Our Whole Lives
Our Whole Lives
Our Whole Lives, or OWL, is a series of six comprehensive sexuality curricula for children, teenagers, young adults and adults published by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries...
sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
curriculum.
Their web presence is as follows:
- The Justice tab at ucc.org,
- The UCC "Justice and Peace Action Network," a mass email network, to include the "our faith our vote" political engagement campaign.
- The "www.ucctakeaction.org" automated system for writing your congressperson.
Political Stands and external engagement
In addition to is internal activities JWM has allied with organizations outside the UCC and endorsed legislation and political positions. Such positions include the following:- Supporting Universal Access to Health Insurance http://www.ucc.org/justice/issues/health/
- Ending the genocide in Sudan http://ga3.org/campaign/sudan607
- Maintaining membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive ChoiceReligious Coalition for Reproductive ChoiceThe Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice was founded in 1973 by clergy and lay leaders from mainline denominations and faith traditions to provide interfaith support for the new constitutional right to privacy in decisions about abortion...
http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm - lamenting the Supreme Court's decision to limit partial-birth abortions http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=897&Itemid=54 http://www.rcrc.org/news/Supreme%20Court_members_statements.cfm
- Endorsing a statement against abstinenceAbstinenceAbstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical...
-only sexual education http://www.ncac.org/education/related/20030305~DC-Washington~Abstinence-Only_Education_Online_Press_Kit.cfm and involving the UCC in the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United StatesSexuality Information and Education Council of the United StatesThe Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States is a lobbying organization and advocacy group dedicated to sex and sexuality education, sexual health, and sexual rights...
National Coalition to Support Sexuality Education http://www.siecus.org/policy/NCSSE/ncsse0001.html - Supporting the cause of Washington DC residents to get legislative representation http://www.dcvote.org/about/coalitioninfo.cfm?coalitionID=65
- Speaking out in favor of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples against state http://www.ucc.org/news/u101904.pdf http://www.ucc.org/justice/witness/wfj032904.htm and federal http://online.logcabin.org/issues/religious_leaders_oppose_FMA.html legislation that would limit marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
to one man and one woman. - Speaking out against the Federal Marriage AmendmentFederal Marriage AmendmentThe Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
that would limit same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
saying that the constitutional amendment "reflects a fundamental disregard for individual civil rights" http://clergyforfairness.org/joint-letter/ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_13_121/ai_n6159263 - Participated as the only quasi-church organization in the National School Boards AssociationNational School Boards AssociationThe National School Boards Association, or NSBA, is a nonprofit organization operating as a federation of state associations of school boards across the United States. Founded in 1940, NSBA represents 95,000 local school board members who govern 14,890 local school districts serving more than 47...
Q&A guide to entitled "Dealing with Legal Matters Surrounding Students' Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/424-2.pdf whose October release was officially timed to coincide with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month http://www.nsba.org/site/doc.asp?TRACKID=&CID=90&DID=34611 - Supporting the labor movement including endorsing the National Farm Worker Ministry http://www.nfwm.org/pdf/AgJOBS/nfwmpr.pdf, and encouraging boycotts (Mt. Olive Pickle Company alongside Farm Labor Organizing CommitteeFarm Labor Organizing CommitteeThe Farm Labor Organizing Committee , AFL-CIO, is a labor union representing migrant farm workers in the Midwestern United States and North Carolina.-History:...
http://www.ucc.org/justice/boycotts/mtolive.htm, Taco BellTaco BellTaco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
http://www.ucc.org/justice/boycotts/tb.htm http://www.ciw-online.org/UCCresponse.html alongside Coalition of Immokalee WorkersCoalition of Immokalee WorkersThe Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a non-profit organization in Immokalee, Florida whose members are "largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state."Founded in 1993, the group has seen major success on several fronts...
) on behalf of farm workers, and enrolling in a living wageLiving wageIn public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
campaign http://www.letjusticeroll.org/mission.html - Protesting the Iraq war http://www.sojo.net/images/action/cpw_flyer_8x11_color.pdf and support and promotion of the September 24, 2005 United for Peace and JusticeUnited for Peace and JusticeUnited for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."...
rally in Washington DC http://www.ucc.org/justice/j081105.htm alongside the ANSWER coalitionA.N.S.W.E.R.Act Now to Stop War and End Racism , also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States-based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations...
. http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_S24index - Endorsing a rejection of the No Child Left Behind act. http://www.house.gov/fattah/education/ed_sbr_end8.htm
- Sponsoring a study to correlate locations of racial minorities and the placement of toxic wasteToxic wasteToxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
dumps http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/COLUMNIST0107/704220402/1097/COLUMNIST - Joining the Coalition on Human Needs in endorsing a statement against the President's proposed 2007 BudgetUnited States budget processThe process of creating the budget for the United States government is known as the budget process. The framework used by Congress to formulate the budget was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and by other budget...
. http://www.chn.org/pdf/060224signonletter.pdf Publishing a 20-page study guide for understanding the shortcomings of President Bush's proposed Federal budget http://www.ucc.org/justice/pdfs/winners_losers_07.pdf and signed on to a proposed priorities for the 110th Congresshttp://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/22/usdom15384.htm - Endorsing a "Walmart week of action" to protest Walmart. http://www.ucc.org/ucnews/nov05/walmart.htm
- Opposing the death penalty and coordinating several letter-writing campaigns to the Tennessee governor’s office supporting clemency for Philip WorkmanPhilip WorkmanPhilip Workman was a death row inmate executed in Tennessee on May 9, 2007. He was convicted in 1982 for the murder of a police officer following a botched robbery of a Wendy's restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, and sentenced to death by lethal injection.Workman's guilt remains controversial and...
. http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=921&Itemid=54 - Sponsoring an art show for Puerto Rican independence advocates convicted of criminal/terrorist activity http://www.ucc.org/news/jwm-board-supports-amistad-chapel-art.html
Opponents and critics
Given that the United Church of Christ has no explicit political orientation, the statements and actions of the type issued by JWM has been criticized by conservatives within the UCC.- Notable UCC Blogger critic UCCtruths.org http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=493&Itemid=1 has accused former JWM minister Bernice Powell Jackson of being a “spin doctor” when making justice statements on behalf of JWM. http://www.ucctruths.com/SpinDoctor.html
- renewal group Biblical Witness FellowshipBiblical Witness FellowshipBiblical Witness Fellowship is an evangelical renewal movement composed of members of the United Church of Christ. Founded in 1978 as the United Church People for Biblical Witness, the movement reorganized as the Biblical Witness Fellowship at a national convocation in Byfield, Massachusetts in...
has accused The UCC and other mainline denominational leaders of “long [drawing] their issues and positions directly from the playbook of leftist political groups” http://www.biblicalwitness.org/in_a_march_7th_speech_to_gettysb.htm. BWF states " An increasingly divisive ideological agenda by denominational leaders and antagonism following the failed dialogue [in the years 1991 – 2005] increase[d] the rates of loss to their highest in UCC history...In the United Church of Christ, Denominational leaders and Conference Ministers bear personal responsibility for the loss of members and churches. This is a sad legacy. " http://www.biblicalwitness.org/fact_vs.htm - In response to the consistently leftist statements issued by JWM, The Biblical Witness Fellowship submitted http://www.biblicalwitness.org/fact_vs.htm (and General Synod passed) a 2001 resolution “Mutual Respect Within Faith Communities” http://www.ucc.org/synod/resolutions/res11.htm that sought to limit the kinds of statements that were made by denominational leaders.