The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis address a crowd of thousands with passion and precision
August 25, 2024
The Poor People’s Campaign event drew thousands. (Contributed photo)
Across the nation from the gathering of the PC(USA)’s 226th General Assembly, the Poor People’s Campaign held an assembly of its own in Washington, D.C., and it featured spirited comments from two Presbyterian pastors.
The Mass Poor People’s and Low Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March featured talks by both the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-founder of the Poor People’s Campaign and director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights & Social Justice, and the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, the PC(USA)’s advocacy director.
“Our General Assembly is meeting in Salt Lake City this very moment,” Hawkins was to say in prepared remarks before cutting them short. “We have passed resolutions calling for a prohibition on solitary confinement, an end to Christian nationalism, for environmental justice, and issues that impact the lives of countless families in desperate need of support, and we have encouraged Presbyterians to attend the PPC for livable wages and human dignity.”
Hawkins noted that Presbyterians have been calling for just wages for American wages for more than 50 years. “For decades we have called for gender equality and for a woman to be paid as much for her labor as a man doing the same job.”
Presbyterians, according to Hawkins, “stand committed to working to end the scourge of children going to bed without enough to eat.” They’re “engaged in building affordable housing on church property,” citing the redevelopment work by Westminster Presbyterian Church. They’re “dedicated to justice, mercy, and the dignity of every human being,” and they’re willing to “work with the PPC and stand with labor to build a more just society wherein a person who works anywhere is paid a living wage that enables them to live a life where their needs are met.”
Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, August 25, 2024, the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Today’s Focus: Poor People’s Campaign assembly in Washington, D.C.
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Lyndsey Peaks, Housekeeper, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Ceara Pepaj, Product Manager, Flyaway Books, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Let us pray
Dear God, open our ears, eyes and hearts to sense the possibilities all around us for mission and evangelism. Make us communities that sense needs and do everything in our power to meet them. In the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.