Living Faith in Action

This is Labor Day weekend.  There is a sense in which it marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new year.  Schools and colleges have resumed or are about to, and many churches and religious organizations begin their new fall schedule.  Our schedule is delayed for a few weeks because of the ongoing restoration work. We hope it will be completed by the end of the month.

This morning I have a few thoughts to share about labor and economic inequality.  Then, in response to a request from the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, we have been asked to make solidarity visible with them by participating in a day of “Confession, Repentance, and Commit-ment to End Racism.”

Our reading from the Letter of James has something to say to us on this Labor Day weekend: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”  The message here is that an authentic faith requires action.  An active faith provides care for those in need.

The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City.  It was a day to commemorate trade and labor organizations.  Two years later the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, and the Central Labor Union in New York urged similar organizations in other cities to follow their example and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date.

The observance of Labor Day took the form of a parade focused on "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations." Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later as more emphasis was placed on the economic and civic significance of the holiday.

Labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known. It brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of an economic and equitable democracy.  And so we pay tribute to American workers responsible for much of our nation's strength, freedom, and leadership. 

There is, however, a major problem today. The Pew Research Center has identified several issues of economic inequality in our society.  We no longer have the robust manufacturing climate of production we used to enjoy.  There is, as some have noted, considerable profit without production.  We are a service and technologically oriented society.  The Pew Research Center lists several areas of inequality:

Income inequality is the highest it’s been since 1928 and is more unequal than most of the other developed countries.  Americans are relatively unconcerned about the wide income gap between rich and poor.  Wealth inequality is even greater than income inequality. 

Economic inequality is counter to what our historic celebration of Labor Day is all about.  The poor in our country, both black and white, struggle to survive.  With all our wealth and more than adequate resources it is unconscionable that so many people are malnourished, homeless, uneducated, and under-valued.  As we heard, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

Last Tuesday we received a letter from the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies, written on behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  The letter asks us to put our faith into action.

“Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
 On June 17, nine members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, were murdered by a white racist during their weekly bible study. Just a few days later at General Convention in Salt Lake City, we committed ourselves to stand in solidarity with the AME Church as they respond with acts of forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice.”

And, “to make that solidarity visible by participating in ‘Confession, Repentance, and Commitment to End Racism Sunday’ we ask all Episcopal congregations to join this ecumenical effort with prayer and action.

“’Racism will not end with the passage of legislation alone; it will also require a change of heart and thinking,’ writes AME Bishop Reginald T. Jackson. ‘This is an effort which the faith community must lead, and be the conscience of the nation. We will call upon every church, temple, mosque and faith communion to make their worship service on this Sunday a time to confess and repent for the sin and evil of racism, this includes ignoring, tolerating and accepting racism, and to make a commitment to end racism by the example of our lives and actions.’

“The Episcopal Church, along with many ecumenical partners, will stand in solidarity with the AME Church this week in Washington D.C. at the ‘Liberty and Justice for All’ event, which includes worship at Wesley AME Zion Church and various advocacy events.

“Racial reconciliation through prayer, teaching, engagement and action is a top priority of the Episcopal Church in the upcoming triennium. Participating in ‘Confession, Repentance, and Commitment to End Racism Sunday’ on September 6 is just one way that we Episcopalians can undertake this essential work. Our history as a church includes atrocities for which we must repent, saints who show us the way toward the realm of God, and structures that bear witness to unjust centuries of the evils of white privilege, systemic racism, and oppression that are not yet consigned to history. We are grateful for the companionship of the AME Church and other partners as we wrestle with our need to repent and be reconciled to one another and to the communities we serve.

“’The Church understands and affirms that the call to pray and act for racial reconciliation is integral to our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to our living into the demands of our Baptismal Covenant,’ May God bless us and forgive us as we pray and act with our partners this week and in the years to come.”

As you know a related development is our Center for Reconciliation in Rhode Island to foster inter-racial reconciliation through programs that engage, educate, and inspire.  The focus is to build equitable and respectful relationships to restore unity with God and each other; to listen to each other’s stories; to collaborate as partners and advocates for justice; and to organize our lives for the common good.  This work is complex and difficult as we repurpose our Diocesan Cathedral building to become a renewed venue for this needed project.  May we all pray, work, and give for the spread of God’s kingdom.  Amen.