Social Justice Involvement at Springdale Presbyterian Church
The term "social justice" covers a lot of ground - and unfortunately, in recent times it has been muddied with all sorts of counterproductive political baggage. In reality, all that "social justice" means is the kind of human existence - peace, justice, and equity - that God continuously calls for throughout the entirety of the Christian scriptures. It represents the kind of human existence that God created and designed human beings to have. As we often say, working for social justice is not inappropriately being involved in political things. This is not a Democrat or Republican thing; it's a Jesus thing. Because of that, working for social justice, in all of its many forms, is an inseparable part of living out the Christian faith for us.
At Springdale, we're involved in various social justice initiatives:
At Springdale, we're involved in various social justice initiatives:
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Racial Justice
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has long been a vocal advocate for racial justice. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, many Presbyterians worked within the movement, and actively participated in marches, sit-ins, and other forms of direct action to achieve greater racial justice (the picture to the right is Rev. Eugene Carson Blake, then the leader ("Stated Clerk") of the Presbyterian Church, marching arm in arm with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the March on Washington in 1963). Today, the denomination continues to be deeply committed to working for greater racial justice and equity through a number of ways. |
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Here at Springdale, we are also committed to these same goals, partnering with other groups for greater impact. In addition to being involved denominationally in national efforts, a number of our members also participate in events with Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice - an organization designed to assist primarily white individuals and groups to partner with groups led by people of color, to work together for racial justice in our own community and beyond.
Economic Justice
Springdale has raised funds for the Louisville chapter of The Bail Project, and we have sponsored numerous Community Conversations with community leaders involved in racial justice issues in many ways. The pictures below are from two different events - a mass gathering of the New Poor Peoples Campaign at the state capital in Frankfort, and a large march protesting the cash bail system that a number of Springdale members took part in, in St. Louis in the summer of 2018, when Presbyterians delivered close to $50,000 to bail out people arrested on non-violent charges who were in jail while awaiting trial because they couldn't afford bail..
Springdale has raised funds for the Louisville chapter of The Bail Project, and we have sponsored numerous Community Conversations with community leaders involved in racial justice issues in many ways. The pictures below are from two different events - a mass gathering of the New Poor Peoples Campaign at the state capital in Frankfort, and a large march protesting the cash bail system that a number of Springdale members took part in, in St. Louis in the summer of 2018, when Presbyterians delivered close to $50,000 to bail out people arrested on non-violent charges who were in jail while awaiting trial because they couldn't afford bail..
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Immigrant Justice
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is also a very strong leader in the immigrant justice movement, and Springdale is also involved locally. Our congregation is a member of the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, a local group working to promote immigrant rights, justice, and assistance within the community. We also support, with both time and financial resources, La Casita Center, an immigrant services organization in downtown Louisville. The pictures below are from the summer of 2018, when a number of Springdale members took part in this protest in downtown Louisville, protesting unjust abuses by ICE officers, and acting as part of an interfaith peaceful barrier between the ICE protestors and a group of white nationalists counter-protesting across the street.
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LGBTQ+ Justice
Springdale also stands up for full LGBTQ+ equality, both in the church as well as society in general. In order to show that to the community at large, we participate in the annual Kentuckiana Pride Parade.
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